Resumen

DIAZ PEREZ, Raúl; GUTIERREZ VALDEZ, Dulce Haydeé  y  MACIAS MAYEYA, Araceli. Agenesia of the third molars in patients of the Faculty of Odontology of the National Autonomous University of Mexico. Rev Cubana Estomatol [online]. 2008, vol.45, n.3-4. ISSN 0034-7507.

ANTECEDENTS: the third molars are the last teeth to erupt. Their presence generate diverse pathologies as crowding, pericoronitis and pain, generally due to the lack of space in the maxillae. According to human phylogeny, they are considered teeth on the way to extinction. They present an increasingly delayed eruption and even absence due to lack of formation, OBJECTIVE: to determine the frequency of agenesia of the third molars in patients of the Faculty of Odontology of the National Autonomous University of Mexico. METHODS: 915 orthopantomographies of patients aged 16-24 were examined and the diagnosis of presence of the third molars was made. Sociodemographic information was necessary and the association with sex was analyzed by using X2. RESULTS: 20 % of the sample presented agenesia of the 4 third molars, 56 % had the 4, and 24 % only from 1 to 3. Besides, it was found that sex does not determine the presence of the third molars (X2= 0.503, p= 0.478). CONCLUSIONS: the frequency of agenesia of the third molars was 20 % and it is independent of sex.

Palabras clave : third molar; frequency; agenesia.