Radiological features and treatment of erupting maxillary canines in relation to the occurrence of dental developmental abnormalities.

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to investigate the radiological features of the permanent canines and the treatment carried out to ensure their eruption relative to certain features involved in Dental Anomaly Patterns (DAP). MATERIAL AND METHODS: The cross-sectional part of this retrospective register--based study focused on 1,315 dental panoramic tomographs (DPTs) of children aged 8.5-10.5 years, while the longitudinal part involved information on the treatment provided for 1,269 canines after the DPTs and on their eruption into the oral cavity. RESULTS: The canines of the DAP children more often showed evidence of early treatment (p = 0.014), with girls having more frequently interceptive treatment (p = 0.004) and boys early headgear (p = 0.022). Delayed dental age was associated with early treatment (OR 3.29, 95% CI 1.08-9.99). Either no or clear overlapping of a canine with the lateral incisor occurred more often in the DAP children, whereas canine inclination did not differ between the groups. The root development stage of the canine was more often either beginning or well advanced in the DAP children. CONCLUSIONS: The children with dental developmental abnormalities more often showed evidence of early treatment for the canines. Monitoring of the erupting canines after the first mixed stage is important to enable timely early treatment.

Features of Dental Anomaly Patterns in Finnish children as seen in panoramic radiographs at the late mixed stage.

OBJECTIVE: To describe the prevalence of the developmental abnormalities involved in Dental Anomaly Patterns (DAP) and investigate their co-occurrence in an age cohort of children with late mixed dentition. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Retrospective, register-based study focused on 1315 panoramic radiographs of children aged 8.5-10.5 years. The features examined were absent teeth, peg-shaped maxillary lateral incisor, delayed dental age, infraocclusion of primary molars, transposition and distal angulation of unerupted mandibular second premolar. RESULTS: Feature involved in DAP was detected in 29.8% of the children, most common being infraocclusion of primary molars (17.5%), followed by absent teeth (8.4%), delayed dental age (7.6%), distal angulation of unerupted mandibular second premolar (7.3%), peg-shaped maxillary lateral incisor (2.4%) and transposition (0.5%). Two DAP features occurred together in 4.7% of children, while three occurred in 0.7%. Infraocclusion (p=.040) and absent teeth (p=.001) occurred more commonly in girls. Phenotypic variations in maxillary lateral incisor more often occurred together (p=.004). Absent teeth, peg-shaped maxillary lateral incisor and delayed dental age more often occurred together (p<.01) as did transposition and absent teeth (p=.016). CONCLUSION: Almost third of the children had dental developmental abnormalities involved in DAP. Absent teeth, peg-shaped lateral incisors and delayed dental age more often occurred together.