Prevalence of anterior tooth traits among a sample of the coastal population of South India and comparative review of prevalence among the Eurasian population

Background: The anterior tooth has various nonmetric traits, which vary between different populations. These traits serve as a valuable source of information for anthropologists and forensic odontologists, and some of these traits exhibit sexual dimorphism. Methods: Dental casts of 163 patients in South Indian population, 69 males and 93 females, were scanned and digitized, and the anterior tooth traits of shoveling, double-shoveling, curvature, peg-lateral, and tuberculum dentale were observed and graded according to the scoring system by Arizona State University Dental Anthropology System (ASUDAS). Palatogingival groove was noted as present or absent. Results: The prevalence of shoveling in the mandibular central incisor was 15.9 %–18.3 % and shoveling in the maxillary central incisor was 20 %–26.9 %. Shoveling was found in 24.7 %–28.6 % in the maxillary lateral incisor. The curvature of the maxillary central incisor was seen in 24.3 %–28 %. Tuberculum dentale was seen in 38.6 %–43 %. Double shoveling of the maxillary central incisor was seen in 7.1 %–7.5 %. Peg lateral was found in 8.6 % of males and 1.1 % of females, exhibiting significant gender differences. Palatogingival groove was present in 9.7 %–11.6 %. Sexual dimorphism in relation to shoveling pattern of lateral incisor and increased prevalence of palatogingival groove on the left side was noted. Significance: Apart from shoveling, other anterior nonmetric traits have not been studied widely in different populations. These traits, which show variations, and their prevalence have been recorded in this study.