Prevalence of external apical root resorption among orthodontic patients: a Cross-sectional study

Objectives With the increased demand for orthodontic treatments in adults, external apical root resorption (EARR) has always been an complication during orthodontic treatment. The present study aimed to investigate the presence of external apical root resorption (EARR) among orthodontics patients attending dental clinics at the School of Dental Medicine, University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Methods A retrospective keywords search of the clinical notes of UNLV School of Dental Medicine (SDM) patient charts in axiUm™ was performed using the search terms “orthodontics”, “root resorption”, and “external apical root resorption” to identify the number of orthodontic cases that clinically presented with EARR using the Levander & Malmgren ranking of the EARR levels. The inclusion criteria encompassed patients with previous orthodontic treatment, non-extraction cases, no congenital abnormalities, and no preexisting documented root resorption or endodontic treatment prior to the study. The patient population's inclusion criteria encompassed records of individuals who were ≥ 12 years. Results 148 patients presented with EARR, the Hispanic population had the most significant incidence of EARR (50%). Among all EARR cases, 59% were under the age of 18 yrs, followed by the age group 18–24 years (22%). Females comprised 60.8%, with males accounting for 39.2% of total cases. Most cases had a grade 2 EARR (64.2%) ranking as moderate resorption, while only 6.1% had a grade 4 EARR (Extreme resorption). Conclusion Within the limitations of the present investigation, the presence of EARR was dominant among young adult Hispanic females. Upper and lower anterior teeth exhibited more EARR with level 2, indicating moderate resorption.