Emergence of permanent teeth among the meiteis of Manipur, India

To estimate the time and sequence of emergence of the first 28 permanent teeth in rural Meiteis of Manipur, 440 children 5-14 years of age were examined. Median tooth emergence times were earlier in females than males. The first molar was highly variable in its emergence time in both sexes. With the exception of premolars, mandibular teeth emerged earlier than maxillary teeth. Although no definite pattern was found in bilateral differences, left maxillary teeth and right mandibular teeth emerged slightly earlier in females and males, respectively. There was no clear sex difference in the sequence of permanent tooth emergence. The quiescent period between the first and second phases of tooth emergence was more apparent in the mandible than in the maxilla and occurred between the lateral incisor and first premolar in both jaws and sexes. The Meiteis displayed earlier emergence compared to other populations within India. The findings of this study support earlier reports that socioeconomic conditions do not significantly influence permanent tooth emergence; the chief controlling factor is most likely genetic. © 1994 Wiley-Liss, Inc.