Abstract

BARREIRO, Carolina  and  MAIDANA, Ángela. Premature Loss of the Permanent First Molar in Children Aged 7 to 18 Years at Children's Home in Asunción, Paraguay. Pediatr. (Asunción) [online]. 2012, vol.39, n.3, pp.179-182. ISSN 1683-9803.

Introduction: The permanent first molar is one of the most important dental structures for proper mastication. Objective: To determine the presence of upper and lower permanent first molars in children residing in a children's home of Asunción, assess the status of those molars in the oral cavity, and determine the most common cause of any disease found. Materials and Methods: The sample included male children aged 7-18 years who were present at the home at the time of the study. Clinical observation was made and recorded in the dental records of each child. Dental records were created at the Universidad Autónoma de Asuncion using dental chairs with good light, a mouth mirror, dental explorer, and periapical radiography when required. Molars were classified as a) Healthy Tooth: completely erupted with fossae and fissures, and without cavities or with fillings in place; b) Tooth Absent: due to physiological reasons (agenesis) or extraction; c) Unhealthy Tooth: with active caries or requiring endodontic treatment. Results: Of the children we examined, all (100%) presented disease or absence of the upper and lower permanent first molars. Of the molars present (n= 61), 100% showed active caries. A total of 23 permanent first molars in 21 patients were absent. Conclusion: In our sample 100% of children showed absent or diseased permanent first molars, with the cause in the majority of cases being dental caries, a disease that can be prevented by dental checkups at early ages, preferably before eruption of the permanent first molars.

Keywords : Permanent first molar; dental caries; children; prevalence; adolescents.

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