Abstract: Objective To investigate the association between sella turcica and maxillary lateral incisor agenesis by comparing the size of sella turcica between patients with congenital absence of maxillary lateral incisors and complete dentiton. Methods Patients were divided into two groups with 80 patients in each group:the experimental group included patients with agenesis of the maxillary lateral incisor; the control group consisted of patients with complete dentition. Dolphin imaging software was used to evaluate the size and record calcification in the bridge of sella turcica. Results Except for the length of sella turcica, no statistically significant difference was found in the size of sella turcica between the two groups .There was a statistically significant difference in the incidence of bridge between two groups. Statistically significant differences between gender were found neither in the frequency of sella turcica bridge nor in the size of turcica. Conclusion Patients with congenitally missing maxillary lateral incisors had a greater sella turcica length and an increased incidence of sella turcica bridge, compared to the control group.

Key words: maxillary lateral incisor, congenital absence, sella turcica, sella turcica bridge