Premature loss of temporary teeth is particularly important during growth and development periods, if considering the negative effects generated by the pattern of prematurely lost teeth, a special feature being the aetiology implications of these losses. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the aetiology of premature loss of temporary teeth in children of preschool age, and the localization of these temporary losses: upper/lower arches or anterior/lateral area of the dental arch.
The study clinically evaluated a group of 274 children, with ages between 4-8 years, from three kindergartens in Iasi, divided, according to sex, into four age groups. The observation was made that, aetiologically, deciduous teeth are most frequently affected by simple/complicated caries, leading to premature loss, with extractions performed before the time of permanent teeth eruption; such early losses occur more frequently in the mandibular arch than in the upper arch, and in the lateral area, comparatively with the anterior one, regardless of age group. The prevalence of a premature loss of temporary teeth, determined by the increased number of transitional edentulous dental arches and by the location pattern of losses in the dental arches, supports the data obtained in the present study.
- caries
- dental pattern
- dental trauma
- premature loss
- temporary tooth extractions.