Abstract

Traumatic injuries in childhood may disrupt root development leading to a tooth with open apex. When permanent teeth with incomplete roots undergo pulpal necrosis they develop roots which are very short, these roots contain very thin walls. They also have a tendency to show inadequate crown-root ratio, which leads to poor prognosis of the tooth. The current study aims to evaluate the association between gender and open apex. The study participants included the patients visiting the out patient department of a private dental college from June 2019 to March 2020. A total of 86,000 case sheets and radiographs associated with the case sheets were reviewed and the data of the 47 patients diagnosed with open apex were further analysed. The data was formulated by reviewing the case sheets of the patients and the data was statistically analysed using Statistical Product and Service Solution software. Within the limits of the study, open apex is more predominant among the male population(83.0%) when compared to the female population (17.0%) and it can be seen that the incidence of open apex is higher for all the teeth in males (11-75.0%, 12-60.0%. 21-89.5%, 22,31,36,41-100%). Chi-square analysis was done and there was no statistically significant association between gender and incidence of open apex. (Pearson chi-square value-4.594; df- 6 ; p-value =0.597>0.05).

Key words: Gender, Incidence, Male, Open apex, Trauma.