Mirah Mahir A, Bafail Arwa, Shaheen Sameer, Baik Abdulmajeed, Abu Zaid Basim, Alharbi Abdulaziz, Alahmadi Omar
Restorative Dental Sciences Department, College of Dentistry, Taibah University, Madinah, SAU.
Oral Basic and Clinical Sciences Department, College of Dentistry, Taibah University, Madinah, SAU.
Cureus. 2023 Sep 27;15(9):e46056. doi: 10.7759/cureus.46056. eCollection 2023 Sep.
The term "pulp stones" refers to conditions of calcification that can appear in any area of the dental pulp. This study aims to assess the prevalence of pulp stones and examine whether there is any connection between their occurrence and factors such as patient age, gender, tooth location, presence of decay, or dental restorations in a western Saudi subpopulation based on cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT).
500 patients were randomly selected from the College of Dentistry, Taibah University, Madinah, Saudi Arabia, database. The study involved evaluating 2998 teeth in coronal, axial, and sagittal planes by four dental peer examiners observing and recording data (sequentially and simultaneously) that included whether pulp stones were present or absent, the teeth group (anterior, premolars, and molars), tooth location (maxillary or mandibular), presence or absence of restoration, presence or absence of caries, and the patient's gender. Chi-square tests were utilized for statistical analysis, and a significance level of p-value ≤0.05 was established.
Out of 500 individuals (250 females and 250 males), only 130 individuals (26%) and 278 teeth out of 2998 (9.2%) had pulp stones, with no significant statistical correlation identified between the presence of pulp stones and gender. (P = 0.459). Molars exhibited the greatest incidence of pulp stones (238; 85.6%), followed by anterior teeth (30; 10.8%), and premolars had the lowest prevalence (10; 3.6%). Teeth that showed a higher occurrence of pulp stones were associated with caries (74; 26.6%) and restorations (58; 20.9%). The association between pulpal stone and periodontal involvement was seldom significant (0.7%). A significant association was found between the presence of pulp stones and nonintact teeth (P<0.001). There was a statistically significant difference in the distribution of pulp stones between females and males in the maxillary and mandibular (74.7% and 57.3%, respectively) (P = 0.002). Additionally, the frequency of pulp stones was statistically significant when comparing the left and right sides (P<0.001) (48.9% and 51.1%, respectively).
Understanding the prevalence and distribution of pulp stones is crucial for dentists and endodontists, as it assists practitioners in devising an appropriate treatment plan for affected teeth that require root canal therapy. One-fourth of the Madinah population was confirmed to have pulp stones, with a higher incidence in molars, caries, and restored teeth. No difference was found between its occurrence and gender. The high prevalence is exhibited in individuals between 45 and 54 years old. However, further studies with equal patient distribution are needed to confirm this observation.
“髓石”一词指的是可能出现在牙髓任何部位的钙化情况。本研究旨在评估髓石的患病率，并基于锥形束计算机断层扫描（CBCT）检查沙特西部亚人群中髓石的发生与患者年龄、性别、牙齿位置、龋病存在情况或牙齿修复之间是否存在任何关联。
从沙特阿拉伯麦地那泰巴大学牙科学院数据库中随机选取500名患者。该研究由四名牙科同行检查人员在冠状面、轴面和矢状面评估2998颗牙齿，观察并记录（依次和同时）的数据包括是否存在髓石、牙齿组别（前牙、前磨牙和磨牙）、牙齿位置（上颌或下颌）、是否存在修复体、是否存在龋病以及患者性别。采用卡方检验进行统计分析，设定显著性水平为p值≤0.05。
在500名个体（250名女性和250名男性）中，只有130名个体（26%）以及2998颗牙齿中的278颗（9.2%）有髓石，髓石的存在与性别之间未发现显著的统计学相关性（P = 0.459）。磨牙的髓石发生率最高（238颗；85.6%），其次是前牙（30颗；10.8%），前磨牙的患病率最低（10颗；3.6%）。髓石发生率较高的牙齿与龋病（74颗；26.6%）和修复体（58颗；20.9%）有关。髓石与牙周受累之间的关联很少显著（0.7%）。髓石的存在与非完整牙齿之间存在显著关联（P<0.001）。在上颌和下颌中，女性和男性的髓石分布存在统计学显著差异（分别为74.7%和57.3%）（P = 0.002）。此外，比较左右两侧时，髓石的频率具有统计学显著性（P<0.001）（分别为48.9%和51.1%）。
了解髓石的患病率和分布对于牙医和牙髓病医生至关重要，因为这有助于从业者为需要根管治疗的患牙制定合适的治疗方案。麦地那四分之一的人口被证实有髓石，在磨牙、龋病和有修复体的牙齿中发生率较高。其发生与性别之间未发现差异。45至54岁的个体中患病率较高。然而，需要进一步进行患者分布均衡的研究来证实这一观察结果。
