The influence of gestational age and birth weight of the newborn on tooth eruption

OBJECTIVE: The aim of the present study was to compare the beginning of eruption of the first deciduous tooth in preterm infants (<38 weeks) with full-term infants (38 and 42 weeks) of normal birth weight ((3)2.500g), low birth weight (< 2.500g) and very low birth weight (<1.500g), in order to evaluate if premature birth and low birth weight would affect tooth eruption. METHODS: The neonatal records and the moment of eruption of the first deciduous tooth of 146 infants - 77 preterm infants and 69 full-term infants, ranging from 5 to 36 months old, of both genders - were recorded. All of them were under care at the Pediatric Ambulatory of Hospital Universitário Evangélico at Curitiba - Parana. Data were analyzed considering biological age and post-conception, or corrected, age - which is the gestational age plus the infant's chronological age at the month of eruption of the first deciduous tooth. RESULTS: Results showed that when chronological age is considered, tooth eruption in preterm and very low birth weight infants is importantly delayed. However, when corrected age is considered, no statistically significant differences were found among groups. CONCLUSION: The delayed eruption may be related to the premature birth and not to a delay in dental development.