DENTAL FINDINGS IN PERMANENT DENTITION OF VERY PRETERM BORN CHILDREN. A CASE-CONTROL STUDY

Abstract

Objective: The aim of this register-based study was to compare the prevalence of dental deviations in permanent dentition in adolescents born very preterm and their full-term controls. Material and methods: The subjects consisted of adolescents born very preterm (n=205) and their age- and gender-matched full-term controls (n=205). The data of case children born in 2001-2006 were collected from the register of Turku University Hospital and from dental registers in public dental care. Inclusion criteria were birth before the 32nd week of pregnancy or birth weight of less than 1500 g. Control children were identified in the Oral Health Care (Health and Social Services) register of the city of Turku. Results: In the upper jaw, the prevalence of at least one enamel defect was higher in the case group (18.4%) compared to the control group (11.8%) (RR=1.69, 95% Cl 0.87-3.29, p=0.120). No such difference was observed in the lower jaw. However, none of the differences in permanent teeth were statistically significant. Conclusions: In the literature, preterm children have exhibited significantly more dental defects and shape anomalies in permanent dentition. However, we did not find any significant differences between the case and control children In this study. More studies are needed to elucidate the effect of preterm birth on dental deviations in permanent dentition.