Retained teeth are those that, when they reach the normal time of eruption, remain enclosed within the maxilla or mandible, maintaining the integrity of their physiological pericoronary sac. To characterize the retention of permanent anterior teeth in students between 8 and 19 years of age from schools that attended orthodontic consultation, a cross-sectional descriptive study was carried out. The most affected sex was male. The mean age of the females was 12.1 years and of the males 11.4 years. The canines were the most retained teeth. The vestibular position was the most frequent. Temporal impaction was the main cause. The majority treatment was tooth extraction. Conclusions: In the population studied, retention of permanent anterior teeth predominated in males. The canines were the most affected in the vestibular position. Temporal impaction was the most common cause and the most frequent treatment was tooth extraction.