The impact of premature birth on dental maturation in the permanent dentition

Area of Science:

• Pediatric Dentistry
• Neonatal Medicine
• Radiodontics

Background:

• Premature birth, especially extreme prematurity (before 29 weeks gestation), presents unique challenges in child development.
• The long-term effects of extreme prematurity on dental development are not fully understood.
• Increased survival rates of extremely preterm infants necessitate a better understanding of their developmental trajectories.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate tooth development and calculate dental maturity scores in 9-year-old children born extremely preterm and very preterm.
• To compare the dental maturity of preterm children with that of full-term born children.
• To identify potential impacts on orthodontic diagnostics and treatment timing.

Main Methods:

• Panoramic radiography was used to assess tooth development stages in 36 extremely preterm, 38 very preterm, and 42 full-term children.
• Five observers independently evaluated tooth development (teeth 31-37) using the Demirjian method.
• Dental maturity scores were calculated and compared between the groups; inter- and intra-observer agreement was assessed using Kappa values.

Main Results:

• A significant delay in the maturity of tooth 37 was observed in the extremely preterm group (p ≤ 0.002).
• The extremely preterm group exhibited significantly lower dental maturity scores compared to the full-term group (p ≤ 0.006).
• Inter-observer agreement ranged from 0.31 to 0.71, and intra-observer agreement ranged from 0.16 to 1.0.

Conclusions:

• Extremely preterm children experience a general delay in tooth development at age 9.
• This developmental delay warrants attention from dental clinicians regarding orthodontic assessment and treatment.
• Awareness of delayed dental maturity is crucial for managing the oral health of preterm populations.