Enamel Hypomineralization: Prevalence, Defect Characteristics in Primary Dentition in a Northern Indian Region

Abstract

Background: No data is available on hypomineralization in the full complement of primary dentition. Aim: To report on the prevalence and clinical presentation of enamel hypomineralization (EH) in the primary dentition. Design: A cross-sectional observational study with a random sample of 948, 4–6-year-old schoolchildren of Gautam Buddh Nagar, Uttar Pradesh, India, was conducted after approval from the Institutional Ethics Committee. European Academy of Paediatric Dentistry (EAPD) (2003) criteria were employed to score EH in all primary teeth. A single experienced examiner conducted an entire clinical examination of the study population. Data were expressed as the prevalence, type, extent, and distribution. Further analyses were conducted to compare the prevalence and distribution of different types of lesions in affected subjects using student t-tests and analysis of variance (ANOVA). Results: An overall prevalence of 7.51% (71/948) was reported. A total of 2.75 ± 1.735 teeth/subject were reported to be affected. The most common lesion was creamy white opacity (p = 0.002), while posteruptive breakdown (PEB) was observed in 40.85% (29/71) of affected subjects. Conclusion: The prevalence of EH in primary dentition was 7.51%. Further studies mapping the prevalence as well as possible links with molar incisor hypomineralization (MIH) in other geographical locations of the world are required.