Dental development in children with mild-to-moderate hypodontia

Abstract

Introduction: The aim of this study was to compare dental development in a group of children with mild-to-moderate hypodontia with a matched group. Methods: A study group of 70 children (43 girls, 27 boys) with hypodontia, aged 5.3 to 12.5 years, was matched for race, age, and sex with 140 healthy, normal control subjects. The children's dental ages were calculated by using a modified dental-age estimation method. Differences between dental and chronologic ages were analyzed by t tests, and the correlations between differences in dental and chronologic ages and the numbers of missing teeth were analyzed with the Spearman correlation test. Results: Dental development in children with mild-to-moderate hypodontia was significantly delayed compared with the control group (P < 0.05); however, the mean difference did not exceed 0.3 years in either sex. No correlation was observed between the differences in dental and chronologic age and the severity of hypodontia. Conclusions: Children with mild-to-moderate hypodontia had delayed dental development of a few months; this was statistically significant. Because of individual variations, each patient should be carefully examined. (Am J Orthod Dentofacial Orthop 2011;139:334-8)