The vast majority of supernumerary teeth are associated
with the permanent dentition and occur predominantly
in the premaxillary midline region and are
termed mesiodens (Nazif et al. 1983; Rotberg and Kopel
1984). Of these, most are reported to remain unerupted
(Tay et al. 1984). Two types of supernumerary teeth exist
and are classified as either supplemental (tooth-like)
rudimentary. The etiology of supernumerary teeth is
unclear, but the most popular theory involves hyperactivity
of the dental lamina (Primosch 1981). A hereditary
link and a predilection for males has been suggested
(Brunning et al. 1957; Sedano and Gorlin 1969), but has
yet to be determined.