Assessment of eruption disturbances in the mixed dentition phase of a population in Eastern India: A cross-sectional study

Context: Eruption disturbances in the primary dentition resulting from environmental and genetic factors can eventually lead to complex anomalies in permanent dentition. If intercepted at an early stage, such anomalies in the permanent dentition can be averted. Aim: In this study, the most common eruption disturbances in the mixed dentition phase have been highlighted in an ethnic group in Eastern India. Materials and Methods: Three thousand children between the ages of 6 and 12 years were randomly chosen with 1330 children in the experimental group and 1670 in the control group. The entire population was divided into two age groups – 6–9 years and 10–12 years. The experimental group had 680 males and 650 females. A total of nine parameters were identified that included premature loss of deciduous teeth, over-retained primary teeth, supernumerary teeth, congenital absence of permanent teeth, ankylosis, eruption cysts, etc., Statistical Analysis Used: The Chi-square test was used for the analysis. Results: Statistically significant differences were observed for each of the parameters considered in this study with respect to the two age groups, namely 6–9 years and 10–12 years, and gender, namely male and female, of the experimental group with P < 0.01%. Conclusion: Accurate understanding of the pattern of eruption disturbances in the mixed dentition period of any ethnic group and/or population is imperative for timely intervention and/or referral by primary care dentists so that malocclusion in the permanent dentition can be intercepted and corrected, thereby improving the quality of life index for that ethnic group/population.