Deciduous tooth crown size in prematurely born children

Area of Science:

• Anthropology
• Pediatric Dentistry
• Human Genetics

Background:

• Previous research suggested potential reductions in deciduous tooth crown size among children born prematurely.
• Understanding tooth crown morphology in preterm populations is crucial for developmental assessments.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate deciduous tooth crown dimensions in children born prematurely.
• To compare tooth crown size between preterm children and full-term controls.

Main Methods:

• Cross-sectional study of 328 preterm (<37 weeks gestation) and 1804 control children (aged 6-12 years) from the Collaborative Perinatal Project.
• Dental casts were used to measure mesiodistal and labiolingual dimensions of deciduous canines and molars.
• Analyses were stratified by sex and race.

Main Results:

• No significant differences in deciduous tooth crown dimensions (mesiodistal and labiolingual) were observed between preterm children and controls.
• Both increases and decreases in specific tooth dimensions were noted in the preterm group, but without statistical significance.
• Boys demonstrated significantly larger tooth crown sizes than girls in both preterm and control cohorts.

Conclusions:

• Short gestation is not associated with reduced deciduous tooth crown size, contradicting some prior findings.
• Findings align with previous research on permanent tooth dimensions in preterm children.
• Pronounced sexual dimorphism in tooth crown size is evident early in development, appearing shortly after birth.