Relationship of Enamel Defects of Permanent Teeth to Retention of Deciduous Tooth Fragments

¹ National Institute of Dental Research, Bethesda, Maryland, and Department of Dental and Oral Surgery, Kyushu University, Fukuoka, Japan

The relationship of enamel defects of the permanent bicuspids to imperfect exfoliation of the deciduous molar teeth was studied. The data presented here suggest a correlation between opacities of the enamel in the bicuspids and retained deciduous tooth fragments of their predecessors. No association between hypoplasia of the enamel and retained fragments of deciduous teeth could be demonstrated by the techniques reported. It was suggested that a group larger than the one reported here be studied in an attempt to disclose such an association. The advantage of a longitudinal approach was recognized as a method of confirming and extending the results of this study.

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