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The effect of primary tooth extraction on the eruption of succedaneous premolars

Article Abstract:

In planning dental treatments for children, it is very important to accurately predict when the permanent (succedaneous) teeth will emerge. Both genetic and environmental factors are involved. One environmental factor is the premature loss of primary teeth by extraction. Research data are in conflict about the effect of these extractions; some studies have found that the permanent (replacement) teeth came in sooner than would be expected, while others found they came in later, following premature loss of the primary tooth. This issue has been difficult to study because few patients have a tooth extracted on only one side of the mouth, leaving the opposite tooth (antimere) intact. Presence of the opposite tooth allows comparison of the timing of natural permanent tooth eruption with timing of eruption after extraction. Dental records were examined to find children who had one molar extracted and whose subsequent history of tooth eruptions was documented; a group of 14 girls and 19 boys was selected. Each child had either a first or a second molar pulled. The median difference in age between eruption at the site of extraction and the opposite site was nine months, with the permanent tooth coming in sooner at the extraction site. There was a wide range, however; the extremes were antimere eruption 2.5 years before and 2.83 years after the eruption at the extraction site. The data show that environmental conditions such as extraction or pulp therapy can predispose for early emergence of the permanent tooth. While emergence was affected, tooth maturation was not. (Consumer Summary produced by Reliance Medical Information, Inc.)

Research, Teeth, Tooth loss, Tooth extraction

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How older adults use oral health care services: results of a national health interview survey

Article Abstract:

The use of dental services by elderly individuals may vary depending on a variety of factors. Maintenance of healthy teeth and gums in older adults depends on their use of dental services. A study examined the use of dental services among individuals over 65 years old. Visits to the dentist over a one-year period among individuals between 65 and 74 years old almost doubled between 1964 and 1989. Visits among individuals over 74 years old more than doubled during the same time period. Elderly individuals from a higher income group or those with insurance were more likely to visit a dentist than those from a lower income group or without insurance. Older adults who did not have teeth were less likely to visit a dentist than those with teeth. Maintaining healthy gums should be just as important to individuals without teeth as to those with teeth.

Care and treatment, Aged, Elderly

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Community socioeconomic status and children's dental health

Article Abstract:

The authors acknowledge the decline in dental caries among children since the 1960's, but point out that it is not evenly applicable everywhere. They found that socioeconomic status of the community has a strong bearing, with poorer communities having a higher rate of caries among children.

Social economics, Socioeconomics

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