Ages and sequence of eruption of permanent teeth in a sample of Pakistani school children

Abstract

Introduction: The knowledge of ages at which individual teeth erupt in a given ethnic group is essential for the planning of preventive measures and the treatment of malocclusion. Hence the purpose of this study was to ascertain the sequence and ages of eruption of permanent dentition in Pakistani school children and to find the influence of gender on eruption timings.

Material and Methods: The mean ages of eruption of the permanent teeth (except the third molars) were derived from a cross sectional study of 881 school children, aged 5 to 15 years. Children were examined in daylight and emergence through the gingiva was the criterion for eruption.

Results: Except for the premolars, the mandibular teeth erupted earlier than the corresponding maxillary ones in both sexes. Females tended to erupt teeth before males. The mandibular first molar was the first tooth to erupt in boys, while the mandibular central incisor in girls. The last tooth to erupt in both sexes was the maxillary second molar.

Conclusions: It was concluded that the permanent teeth erupt earlier in Pakistani children than in other parts of the world except Africa.