Influencia de la agenesia dental en el desarrollo de la dentición

Dental agenesis describes the lack of development of at least one tooth. Recent studies suggest the relationship between certain patterns of agenesis and delayed dental development, due to some specific genes. There are different methods to assess the age of development, therefore it is difficult to compare in the literature the studies that relate dental development with agenesis, furthermore, different variants exist which make studies difficult to be compared. An improvement in the understanding of dental development in these patients is important for the planning of orthodontic treatment and to provide a reference to assess the specific age for these patients when there is no birth data. OBJECTIVES: - Observe if dental development is affected by dental agenesis, in the sense of delay or advancement. - Determine the influence of the factors gender and age. - Study the different magnitude of delay, if it exists, according to the type of agenesis. METHODOLOGY: Retrospective cross-sectional study of harmonised groups on a sample of orthopantomographies. Criteria for selecting the group with agenesis: patients between 8-16 years old, with a confirmed case of agenesis, good health, and without any medical problems or syndromes. Criteria for control group were the same, except that the complete dentition was confirmed. 83 cases of agenesis were found. For each of the individuals in the agenesis sample, a pair with complete dentition was obtained, matching sex and age within ± 2 months. The total sample of the two groups was 166 panoramic radiographs, consisting of 98 females and 68 males, with a mean age of 11.5 years old. The agenesis group was divided according to the type of agenesis they presented: upper lateral incisors, second inferior or multiple premolars. A descriptive and analytical study was performed for all variables. The dental age of each individual was estimated from two methods: by assigning to each individual the reached age based on the stage of the left lower second molar, and, by applying the regression formula for estimating estimating Perdomo’s age. Dental age of each of the groups was compared as the mean of the differences. RESULTS: The groups resulted homogeneous in sex and age. In the descriptive analysis the scope of mineralization phases has been analyzed, resulting in an improvement in the development of the teeth of the control group compared to that of agenesis. The delay in individuals in the agenesis group with respect to the control group is only observed when the dental age is estimated from the regression formula versus the L7 method. CONCLUSIONS: - In the subjects with dental agenesis the dental development shows a delay compared to the control group. - It has not been possible to establish a clear influence of sex and age, added to the agenesis factor. - The magnitude of the delay is significantly greater in the group of agenesis of premolars.