The prevalence of the retrocuspid papilla among three indigenous groups of patients. Study of the subjects in Ecuador, Honduras and Nicaragua.

The retrocuspid papilla (RCP) is a soft well circumscribed nodule located lingually to the mandibular cuspid on the gingival tissue surface. The RCP is observed more frequently in young children and regresses or disappears with age. Little information is available in the literature on this structure. The prevalence of the RCP is discussed as it relates to its distribution among three groups of Latin American patients: those of southern Ecuador, northeastern Honduras and eastern Nicaragua. The distribution by age, sex, symmetry and gingival position is evaluated. Based on the analysis of the results, it was determined that: the RCP is most prevalent in under-five age group at a relative frequency of 25 per cent; its prevalence decreases progressively with age; it is present significantly more often among females in the Honduras group; a unilateral distribution is more frequent than a bilateral distribution, except for the Nicaragua group, where a bilateral distribution prevails; and it is most frequently located on the attached gingiva as compared to free gingiva and mucosa. The clinical significance of the RCP resides in the fact that it may simulate pathological gingival conditions from which it must be differentiated.