Dental deviations in deciduous dentition of very preterm children, a register-based case-control study

Abstract

The aim of this study was to compare the prevalence of various dental deviations in deciduous dentition between very preterm and full-term children.

The case group consisted of 206 preterm (90 girls and 116 boys) and 206 control children. Data were combined from two registers: (1) the register from the Turku University Hospital including children born before the 32nd week of pregnancy or having a birth weight less than 1500 grams and (2) dental registers in 28 Public Health Centres. Included preterm born children were born in Turku University Hospital during 2001–2006. Age and gender matched control children were searched from the register of Oral Health Care of Turku City (Health and Social Services).

The prevalence of enamel defects was 21.0 / 1000 deciduous teeth in case children and 4.1 /1000 deciduous teeth in control children (RR= 5.07, 95% CI 1.96-13.13, p=0.001). The prevalence of malformed teeth was low in both groups. The results confirm earlier findings that preterm children have more enamel defects in deciduous dentition compared to full-term children. More studies are needed to elucidate the prevalence of hypodontia, hyperdontia and malformed teeth in preterm children.