Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-dlnhk Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-29T16:38:17.848Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

The development of primary teeth in children from a group of Gambian villages, and critical examination of its use for estimating age

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 March 2007

I. A. McGregor ,
A. M. Thomson  and
W. Z. Billewicz
I. A. McGregor
Affiliation:
Medical Research Council Laboratories, Gambia
A. M. Thomson
Affiliation:
M.R.C. Reproduction and Growth Research Unit, Princess Mary Maternity Hospital, Newcastle upon Tyne 2
W. Z. Billewicz
Affiliation:
M.R.C. Reproduction and Growth Research Unit, Princess Mary Maternity Hospital, Newcastle upon Tyne 2
Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Core share and HTML view are not available for this content. However, as you have access to this content, a full PDF is available via the ‘Save PDF’ action button.

1. Numbers of erupted primary teeth were counted in young children in four rural villages in The Gambia. The ages of all children were precisely known, and their heights and weights were measured.

2. The majority of children were recorded as having an even number of teeth. The number of primary teeth present in children of given age varied widely. Up to 18 months of age, the Gambian children lagged behind American and European children in number of erupted teeth.

3. From the distributions, it appears that a child having no teeth is unlikely to be over 12 months of age, and one with all primary teeth is unlikely to be under 20 months. Between these dental limits, estimates of age from the number of primary teeth present are likely to be accurate to ± 3 or 4 months.

4. Children who were tall or heavy for age tended to have more teeth than those who were short or light. Thus, children with delayed dentition would be systematically assessed as younger than true chronological age.

5. There was, however, no evidence that slow growth was associated with prolongation of the total period of dental eruption, nor that seasonal variations in rate of growth were associated with similar variations in rate of tooth eruption.

Type
Research Article
Information
British Journal of Nutrition , Volume 22 , Issue 2 , May 1968 , pp. 307 - 314
Copyright
Copyright © The Nutrition Society 1968

References

Boas, F. (1927). J. dent. Res. 7, 245.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Doering, C. R. & Allen, M. (1942). Child. Dev. 13, 113.Google Scholar
Falkner, F. (1957). Archs Dis. Childh. 32, 386.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ferguson, A. F., Scott, R. B. & Bakwin, H. (1957). J. Pediat. 50, 327.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hamil, B. M., Reynolds, L., Poole, M. W. & Macy, I. G. 1938). Am. J. Dis. Child. 56, 561.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kosiewski, J., Waliszko, A. & Wich, J. (1966). Mater. Pr. antrop. 73, 41.Google Scholar
Lysell, L., Magnusson, B. & Thilander, B. (1962). Odont. Revy 13, 217.Google Scholar
McGregor, I. A., Rahman, A. K., Thompson, B., Billewicz, W. Z. & Thomson, A. M. (1968). Trans. R. Soc. trop. Med. Hyg. (In the Press.)Google Scholar
Nanda, R. S. (1960). Am. J. Orthod. 46, 363.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Robinow, M., Richards, T. W. & Anderson, M. (1942). Growth 6, 127.Google Scholar
Rowe, D. S., McGregor, I. A., Smith, S., Hall, P. J. & Williams, K. (1968). Clin. exp. Immunol. 3, 63.Google Scholar
Sandler, H. C. (1944). J. Pediat. 25, 140.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Stearns, G. & Meredith, H. V. (1945). Quoted by Merideth H. V. (1946). J. Dent. Res. 25, 43.Google Scholar
Thomson, A. M., Billewicz, W. Z., Thompson, B., Illsley, R., Rahman, A. K. & McGregor, I. A. (1968). Trans. R. Soc. trop. Med. Hyg. (In the Press.)Google Scholar
Voors, A. W. (1957). Documenta Med. geogr. trop. 9, 137.Google Scholar
Voors, A. W. & Metselaar, D. (1958). Trop. geogr. Med. 10, 175.Google Scholar