Evaluation of the relationship between first dental visit, dental age and dental carise status in children with early mixed dentition

Objective: It was aimed to evaluate the relationship between first dental visit time, dental age, and dental caries status of children in early mixed dentition. Method: Children in early mixed dentition, who had a panoramic radiograph due to routine dental examination requirements were included in the study. First dental visit age of the children were determined by reviewing patient records retrospectively and the dental age of the children was calculated on panoramic radiographs by using the Willems method. The DMFT/dmft index was used to evaluate children's dental caries status. The relationship between the first dental visit, dental age and dental caries status were examined statistically by using Paired t test, One-way ANOVA, Tukey test and Pearson correlation analysis. Results: Data from 1989 patients who met the inclusion criteria were examined. The mean age of first dental visit was 7.11 and the children with earlier first dental visit dates had higher dmft index values. Mean dental age of the children (8.64) was significantly (p=0,0001) older than the chronological age (7.93) and DMFT index values were significantly higher in children whose dental age was older than their chronological age (p=0,0001), but the same situation was not observed in primary teeth. Conclusion: According to results of this study dental age, which is older than chronological age, can be considered a risk factor for caries formation especially on permanent dentition. In addition the higher dmft index values of children whose first dental visit was earlier may be attributed to the fact that the children had their first dental visit due to complaints related to tooth decay. Keywords: First dental visit, Dental age, Age estimation, DMFT, dmft.