Radiographic Assessment of Dental Maturation in Children With Dental Agenesis.

BACKGROUND: Dental agenesis is the most common developmental anomaly in humans, frequently associated with disorders in dental development and maturation.

AIM: The purpose of this study is to determine radiographic variations in dental maturation in a group of Venezuelan children with dental agenesis.

STUDY DESIGN: 1,188 panoramic radiographs, from healthy patients ages 5 to 12 years old were studied for agenesis of permanent teeth. Dental maturation was assessed by relative eruption and dental age according to Nolla, comparing children affected with dental agenesis to a stratified control group selected from the same population, excluding children with premature loss of primary teeth in the left quadrants and unclear radiographs. Descriptive analysis, and differences between means and medians (Student t test, Kruskall-Wallis p=0.05) were performed.

RESULTS: Medians for Nolla stages were similar between groups, with delay in tooth formation in the agenesis group for second molars (p<0.05) and maxillary lateral incisors and second premolars. Dental age was significantly underestimated for both groups, -0.89 (±0.78) for the control group and -1.20 (±0.95) for the study group. Tooth eruption was similar between groups.

CONCLUSION: Dental age was significantly delayed in Venezuelan children with dental agenesis, with variable significance for tooth formation of studied teeth.