Prevalence of the Talon Cusp at the Lateral Incisors of Two Individuals of Greek Origin - A Case Study

Background: Dental morphological traits are useful for providing information for phylogenic and genetic studies within and among species and populations. Studies of dental traits in the very interesting geographic area of Greece can provide important data on the genetic constitution and the profile of the dental traits of this particular geographic population. Talon cusp is a rare dental trait in deciduous and permanent dentition and is expressed in several degrees and different frequencies between humans, thus being useful in comparing populations.Aims: The aim of the present study is to detect the presence and degree of expression of the morphological trait of the Talon cusp in a demographic group of adult individuals of Greek origin residing in Athens.Methodology: The data were collected by examination of a demographic group of 113 adult individuals of Greek origin residing in Athens.Results: The age range of individuals belonging to this demographic group was from 12 to 71 years (i.e. 37 ±5 years mean age). Of these individuals, 55 were women and 58 men. The examination focussing on the presence or absence of Talon cusp was carried out according to the system developed and suggested by Hattab et al. (1996). Following the examination the 113 individuals, two cases of Talon cusp were recorded (i.e. a frequency of 2.6%). In both cases, the tooth displaying the trait was the lateral incisor of the maxilla. In the first case, the Talon cusp was located on the lateral incisor of the right maxilla. The degree of expression was 2 and its shape was a V, according to the Hattab et al.(1996) scoring system. In the second case, the Talon trait was located on the lateral incisor of the left maxilla. The degree of expression was 2 and its shape a V, again according to the Hattab et al. (1996) scoring system