Prevalence, severity and clinical characteristics of Molar- incisor hypomineralization in and around Tirupati, AP among 8 to 15 years old children

Abstract

Developmental disorders of teeth are the problems that are mostly seen in pediatric dentistry, especially on first permanent molars and incisors. Molar incisor hypomineralization (MIH) is the proposed term for this phenomenon. The last couple of decades has seen an increasing interest in MIH. Although the reported prevalence ranges from 2.4% to 40.2% worldwide, very little data is available from India Objective: To assess the MIH prevalence, severity and clinical characteristics in 8-15 years old children in Tirupati, Andhra Pradesh. Study design: This cross-sectional descriptive study consisted of 1268 children aged 8-15 years of Tirupati selected by random sampling procedure. The European academy of pediatric dentistry criteria were followed for MIH diagnosis. The presence of dental caries and treatment need for MIH-affected teeth were recorded as per the WHO criteria.  Results: The results were obtained using chi-square test and prevalence of MIH in the children examined was 3.93%. Severity of the defects increased with the age of the children. Involvement of incisors increased when more First permanent molars (FPMs) were affected.  Significantly larger numbers of maxillary FPMs and central incisors were diagnosed with MIH. The association of dental caries was significantly higher with MIH-affected FPMs. Primary molars and permanent canines and premolars were also showed MIH like lesions in some of the MIH-affected children. Conclusion: MIH was observed in about 4% of the children examined. MIH-affected FPMs appear to be more vulnerable to early caries and subsequent pulp involvement with need for extensive dental treatment.