A study on the eruption timing of permanent dentition in patients with cerebral palsy

Purpose: This study aimed to determine the average eruption time and sequence of permanent teeth in patients with cerebral palsy (CP) and to compare the results with the established norms for Iranian subjects.

Methods: This cross-sectional study comprised of 207 individuals with CP, 96 boys and 111 girls, ranging from 6 to 19 years. The average age at eruption of permanent teeth, excluding third molars, was given as the mean (± SD) and median in years for each gender. A table of percentiles of the eruption time was also determined. Comparisons were made using t-test at a significance level of 0.05.

Results: The sequence of eruption in children with CP was almost similar to the normal. With the exception of the second premolar and the second molar, tooth eruption was advanced in girls compared with boys. There was no difference between the left and right sides of each arch. Mandibular teeth had an earlier eruption time than maxillary teeth except for the second premolar. In general, eruption times of children with CP were later (1-33 months) than those reported previously for healthy children.

Conclusions: Despite the almost similar sequence of eruption, a high tendency to delayed eruption of permanent dentition was observed in children with CP.