Dental age assessment and lateral incisor in complete facial clefts

A sound statistical correlation was established between agenesis of the permanent maxillary lateral incisors and severity of unilateral complete cleft lip and palate. Objective: The aim of this study was to determine a possible relationship between agenesis of the permanent lateral incisors and delay in tooth maturation. Material: a sample of 161 children (100 boys and 61 girls) with complete cleft lip and palate aged between 2 and 18 years, who were followed by the Plastic Surgery Department of Montpellier, was divided in two groups: a group of 60 children (36 boys and 24 girls) with agenesis of the lateral incisors and a group of 101 children (64 boys and 37 girls) without agenesis. Methods: Maturation of the seven permanent teeth on the left side of the mandible was determined according to the crown and root developmental stages described by Demirjian et al. (Hum Biol 45:211-227, 1973). The method of dental age assessment was based on Bayes' theorem (1763). Two different methods of analysis were used: the Bayes-Independent predictions which regards the 7 teeth of the left side mandible as an independent variable and the Bayes-Dependent predictions in which these 7 teeth are treated as dependent variables. Results: The study did not find any significant correlation between agenesis of the permanent lateral incisors and delay in tooth maturation in children with cleft lip and palate. Conclusion: Agenesis of the permanent lateral incisors is not an indicator of delayed dental age.