More Braces for Kids Whose Primary Teeth Are Slow to Erupt?

Comment

Comment by Ravi Kumar on February 28, 2010 at 1:30am

I think that this article has merit and the most difficult problem is to predict the direction and end result of growth. If we can do this then we can plan orthodontic treatment whether there is early or late eruption. Early or late eruption predisposes to certain malocclusion, but may not be the only or "the" most important factor. Personally I think there is a big problem with the term "normal". How do we determine a norm for anything. The organism and its environment is in a state of continuous evolution. So what was normal few centuries before may not be normal now! I am a fan of Phase II orthodontic treatment with fixed appliances and always advice my patients to wait for eruption of all permanent teeth before treatment unless there is a pressing need for early treatment (aesthetic?).

I have seen a secular trend in the early exfoliation of deciduous teeth and early eruption of permanent teeth (is it similar to the secular trend seen in early onset menarche?). Many studies have pointed to this direction. This may be due to increase carious involvement of deciduous teeth. I am treating a 10 year old boy with fixed orthodontics and he has all his permanent teeth in occlusion with the second molars erupting. So there is a trend in early treatment with fixed appliances now. The main factor I think is the changing food habits all over the world, leading to a reduced usage of teeth and masticatory muscles. This leads to increased incidence of malocclusion as opposed to the Attritional Occlusion of Australian Aborigines as documented by Dr. R.Begg.