Dental age in Croatian children with hypodontia
Background: The purpose of this study was to compare dental age of hypodontic children with dental age of age- and sex-matched healthy children from general Croatian population. Methods: Dental maturity of 125 children (70 girls and 55 boys) with hypodontia, aged 7.1 to 14.6 years, was evaluated from panoramic radiographs, and compared to the number-matched, age-matched and sex- matched healthy children. Mean biological age of the children was 10.7 years. Dental stages were assessed using the Haavikko method. Dental age was calculated as the mean age of all teeth from all four quadrants except third molars, in accordance with the Finnish dental maturity reference values. Teeth that were missing in children with hypodontia were not evaluated in healthy controls. The teeth with completed growth and development were excluded from calculation of dental age. Paired t-test was used to establish group differences between hypodontic and healthy children of both sexes. Results and conclusion: In both groups of children, the Haavikko method underestimated the chronological age. In the sample of tested children with hypodontia, dental age significantly differ compared to sampled healthy controls and this suggests that tooth formation in children with hypodontia is delayed compared to healthy children.