Abstract

Objective: The purpose of the present study was to perform a comprehensive literature search on facial talon cusps to evaluate the characteristics and distribution. Methods: A review of the articles published in English inbetween January’1960 and December’2013 involved in the study. The search words “anterior teeth”, “talon cusp”, “dens evaginatus”, “facial”, “buccal” “labial”, “primary dentition” and “permanent dentition”in various combinations were used in search engines “PubMed”, “MEDLINE”, “EmBase” and “Google scholar”. The retrieved citations from the included references were subsequently checked, and a hand search was performed to find additional reports. The characteristics, distribution, and tooth type have been included in final data analysis. The Hypothesis was facial talon cusps are common in maxillary arch than the mandibular arch. Descriptive statistics were tested using SPSS (version, 17.0). Results: Total 32 articles with 43 patients were reported on facial talons. These were frequently seen in females. Facial talons are more common in maxillary arch (P<0.05). Almost 70% of the cases were reported in humans and common in permanent dentition. Only seven cases (18%) were bilaterally involved. A 76% of cases reported only on facial surface and 24% reported along with lingual surfaces. Facial talon cusps are more common on central incisors (76%) and frequently reported in Native Americans and Indians. Conclusion: Maxillary facial talons were more common and frequently seen in females. In permanent dentition facial talon cusps are commonly seen in central incisor whilst, lateral incisor is in primary dentition.

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