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Fig 1.
Tooth Eruption Chart
(view
larger version)
Reproduced with permission
from the Arizona Department of Health Services,
Office of Oral Health, courtesy of Don Altman,
D.D.S., M.P.H. The assistance of the American
Dental Hygienists’ Association is gratefully
acknowledged.
Available as an Acrobat PDF
file at www.brightfutures.org/bf2/pdf/
Bright Futures in Practice: Health Supervision
for Infants, Children, and Adolescents,
Appendix J, p. 317.
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Delayed Tooth Eruption
Tooth
eruption may be delayed, accelerated, or inconsistent
in children with developmental disturbances. Eruption
depends on genetics, growth of the jaw, muscular action,
and other factors. For example, delayed tooth eruption
is seen in children with certain genetic disorders,
particularly Down syndrome, and in children with general
developmental delays that involve the oral musculature.
Children whose teeth have not erupted
within 6 months of the schedule presented in Figure
1 should be referred to a dentist for further assessment
and possible intervention.
Malocclusion
Malocclusion
(Figure 2) occurs frequently in children with developmental
disabilities. Muscle dysfunction contributes to malocclusion,
particularly in children with cerebral palsy. Teeth
that are crowded or out of alignment are more difficult
to keep clean.
Dental Anomalies
A variety of dental anomalies are associated with
defects in tooth development related to hereditary,
systemic, traumatic, or local factors. Dental anomalies
are variations in the number, size, and shape of teeth
(Figure 3). Children with Down syndrome, oral clefts,
ectodermal dysplasia, or other conditions may experience
congenitally missing, supernumerary,
or malformed teeth.
In addition, a disruption during tooth
development may affect the structure or the color
of the teeth. For example, enamel
hypoplasia (insufficient and/or irregular quantity
of enamel, Figure 4) may affect tooth structure,
and
enamel
hypocalcification (a condition in which the
enamel is normal, but the enamel quality is poor)
may affect
tooth color. (See
Module 3, section 3.5.)
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| Fig 2. Malocclusion |
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Fig 3. Dental Anomalies |
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Fig 4. Hypoplasia |
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