Prevalence of molar incisor hypomineralization in the city of Buenos Aires

The prevalence of Molar Incisor Hypomineralization (MIH) still remains unknown in Argentina. The objectives of this work were to: estimate prevalence of MIH in a group of children seeking dental care in the city of Buenos Aires, analyze distribution according to year of birth and compare prevalence and severity of MIH in children with different access to health care services. A prospective, observational, transversal, descriptive study was designed, to be conducted on children seeking attention at Department of Comprehensive Children's Dentistry at the School of Dentistry of Buenos Aires University and at 3 pediatric dentistry offices attended by members of the team, located in Buenos Aires city (Kappa 0.933 0.911-0.952), from April to August 2010. The study included all children born between 1993 and 2003, whose 4 first molars and 8 permanent incisors had erupted. After prophylaxis and drying, the teeth were clinically evaluated and specially designed charts were used to record sex, year of birth, type of access to dental care, presence of MIH, number of affected incisors and molars, and maximum degree of severity for each tooth. The data obtained were analyzed using percentages, Fisher's Exact Test and Linear regression. 1098 children, mean age 11.3 years (11.08-11.39) were evaluated. Prevalence of MIH in this study was 15.9% (13.8-18.2). A highly significant positive correlation was obtained between MIH and year of birth (p<0.0001). Group A (private sector: prepaid medical insurance) was made up of 586 children (age: 10.92 6.22-15.62) while group B (public sector: university hospital) was made up of 512 children (age: 11.59 5.31-16.90). In Group A, MIH prevalence was 24.40% (20.9-27.9) while in Group B it was 6.44% (4.31-8.56) (p<0.0001). Of the affected molars, 37% (32.2-42) in A and 13.7% (6.7-23.8) in B had grade 3 lesions, with loss of enamel (p<0.0001). In this study, MIH was a frequent pathology (15.9%) and a significant increase was found according to year of birth during the study period. Patients with better access to health care had greater prevalence and degree of severity of MIH.