Dental eruption in low birth-weight prematurely born children: a controlled study.

Abstract

This study compared the dental eruption status of a group of prematurely born, very low birth-weight (VLBW, < 1500 g) children with a group of low birth-weight (LBW, 15002500 g) as well as a group of normal birth-weight (NB W, 2500 g) children in order to determine if dental eruption is affected by low birth weight and prematurity of birth. Data were analyzed using chronological and corrected (true biological) ages of the prematurely born group. The results show that when chronological ages of the children were used, VLB W children have significant retardation of dental eruption compared with LBW and NBW children, particularly before 24 months of age (P < 0.01). However, when corrected ages of the VLB W children were used, there was no significant difference detected, indicating that the delay in dental eruption may be simply due to their early birth.