Evaluation of the prevalence, clinical and radiographic characteristics of odontomas in children and adolescents in Afyonkarahisar Province

Abstract

Odontomas represent benign odontogenic tumors arising from proliferations of epithelial and mesenchymal tissues involved in tooth development. They are typically asymptomatic, slow growing lesions detected radiographically. This study aimed to determine the prevalence of odontomas in children and adolescent patients in Afyonkarahisar province and to analyze their clinical and radiographic features. In this retrospective study, panoramic radiographs of 19,212 patients aged 6–18 years who presented to the Afyonkarahisar Health Sciences University Faculty of Dentistry between January 2023 and January 2025 were reviewed. Patients diagnosed with odontoma were evaluated for age, sex, lesion type, anatomical location, and clinical symptoms. Statistical analyses were performed using IBM SPSS Statistics Version 26. The prevalence of odontomas among patients aged 6–18 years in Afyonkarahisar was 0.1%. It was found that 33.3% of odontoma cases were compound type and 66.7% were complex type. In 76% of cases, odontomas were observed to prevent the eruption of adjacent permanent teeth. This study, which evaluated children and adolescents, found that the prevalence of odontoma was lower than reported in the literature. As the most common odontogenic tumors, odontomas are frequently identified during routine radiographic examinations, enabling early diagnosis and prevention of potential complications. Early detection in growing patients is especially critical for preventing disturbances in tooth eruption.