Evaluation of Dental Caries in Preterm Born Children with Enamel Defects

Introduction: Predisposition of preterm born children to systemic illness and metabolic disorders leads to defects in hard tissue calcification. One such defect may manifest as hypoplasia of enamel. Imposed on this is frequent sugar exposure due to chronic medication, lowered immunocompetence that accounts for lower serum IgG, IgM and IgA antibodies further predisposes to these children to dental caries. This study is done to evaluate the dental caries in preterm born children with enamel defects.

Materials and Methods: A total of 200 children in age group of 2-8 years were taken, out of those group 1 comprised of preterm born children and group 2 comprised of children born full term. Intraoral examination was done to check for enamel hypoplasia and dental caries and was assessed using DDE (developmental defects of enamel) index for enamel hypoplasia and DMFS (Decayed missing filled) index, defs (decayed extracted filled surfaces) index for dental caries respectively.

Results: The results showed that enamel hypoplasia can be the major contributing factor to develop dental caries.

Conclusion: Early recognition and intervention to treat enamel hypoplasia in preterm children should be a prime consideration so as to prevent development of dental caries. Education of both health care professionals and parents regarding overall dental health is of utmost importance.