Angular changes and their rates in concurrence to developmental stages of the mandibular second premolar

In the early developmental stage of the mandibular second premolar (MnP2), it is not unusual to find the tooth extremely angulated to the lower border of the mandible, as seen in the panoramic roentgenogram. On eruption, the tooth, in most cases, is close to being upright. However, impaction or other types of malocclusions due to its ectopic eruption are not rare. This study follows the angular changes of the MnP2 during development. Two hundred two panoramic roentgenograms of 101 patients were retrospectively analyzed. All patients had two sequential films with a minimal time interval of nine months. Each MnP2 was traced, and its developmental stage as well as its angulation to the lower border of the mandible was registered. We found that normally more MnP2 are distally (56.5%) than mesially (25%) inclined. There is a statistically significant difference in the inclination of the teeth during their development from stage D to stage F (D = 75.17 degrees +/- 15.25 degrees, E = 79.35 degrees +/- 12.18 degrees, F = 83.38 degrees +/- 10.79 degrees). The average amount of total angular change rate of the MnP2s from stage D to stage G is 0.09 +/- 0.25 degrees/mo, and the absolute angular change rate is 0.19 +/- 0.25 degrees/mo.