Malocclusions in primary and early mixed dentition in very preterm children.

Objective

To compare the prevalence of malocclusions in the primary and early mixed dentition of very preterm and full-term children.Material and methods: Study subjects consisted of 205 very preterm (90 girls and 115 boys), and 205 age- and gender-matched full-term children. Data were collected from the register of Turku University Hospital (children born before the 37th week of pregnancy with a birth weight of less than 1500 g, and all infants born before the 32nd week of pregnancy) and from public health centre dental registers.

Results

In primary dentition, case children had a higher odds of dental crowding (OR = 2.94, 95% CI 1.17-7.35, p = .021), a tendency toward increased overbite (OR = 1.55, 95% CI 0.93-2.59, p = .096), and a lower odds of increased overjet (OR = 0.19, 95% CI 0.07-0.57, p = .003) compared to control children. In early mixed dentition, there were no statistically significant differences in occlusal traits; however, case children were significantly more likely to have received orthodontic treatment (OR = 2.80, 95% CI 1.50-5.23, p = .001) compared to controls.

Conclusions

The results indicate that in primary dentition, the prevalence of malocclusion varies between very preterm and full-term children. In early mixed dentition, the distribution of occlusal traits is more similar.