Maturation of the First Molars in Primary Dentition with Class III Malocclusion

Abstract

Early treatment is recommended for class III malocclusion in the primary dentition, though it is difficult to diagnose correctly. It was recommended dental maturation can possibly be used to make a differential diagnosis of skeletal class III malocclusion. This study aimed to compare dental maturation of first molars in children with skeletal or non-skeletal class III malocclusion in the primary dentition and to determine if dental maturation could be used to make a differential diagnosis of class III malocclusion.Among the children visiting the department of pediatric dentistry in Pusan National University Dental Hospital for anterior crossbite in the primary dentition, 18 were categorized into the non-skeletal class III malocclusion and 34 into the skeletal class III malocclusion. Panoramic radiographs were used to make comparative analysis of dental age and the eruption rate of the first molars. The following results were obtained.No difference was found between chronologic and dental age by the skeletal features or gender, with the latter being older than the former (p < 0.05). The discrepancies in eruption rate of first molars were significantly different between skeletal (18.91%) and non-skeletal groups (16.53%) (p < 0.05). This result implies that maturation of the first molars might be used to make a differential diagnosis of class III malocclusion.