Methods: This was a retrospective analysis of orthopantomograms (OPGs) and dental charts. A total of 418 records of children aged between 3 and 10 years treated at the Logan Beaudesert Division, Metro South Health Service District, Queensland Health were analysed (352 children with caries experience treated under general anaesthetic (GA) and 66 control children with no caries experience). Each child had at least one orthopantomogram (OPG). The method of Demirjian et al. (1973) was used to determine dental age. Dental advancement was determined by subtracting the chronological age at time of OPG exposure from the dental age. The number of decayed teeth at GA treatment was used as the measure of caries experience. Statistical analysis was performed using ANOVA and student's t-test.
Results: There was a statistically significant acceleration in dental development in the groups of children with caries compared to the control groups without caries for both females (0.53±0.17 yrs, p<0.0015) and males (0.46±0.10 yrs, p<0.0001). There were positive correlations between dental advancement and number of decayed teeth for both females (p=0.025) and males (p=0.0026).
Conclusion: There is a positive relationship between accelerated dental development and caries experience in children.