The relationship between the number of erupted primary teeth and the child´s height and weight: a cross-sectional study

The objective of this study is to determine the correlation between the number of erupted primary teeth, the age, sex and the somatic measures of weight and height (length) in a Brazilian population based cross sectional study. A systematic sampling was used. Complete and consistent data were obtained from 870 of a total of 908 children from birth to 36 months of age. Statistical analysis com-prised a multiple regression equation, where the number of erupted primary teeth was modeled as the dependent variable and the initial specification included the following independent variables: age, sex, birth-length, birth-weight, weight and length measured at the examination of the child. Results showed that in this study, 86% of the variation of the number of erupted primary teeth was explained by age and height of children (p<0.001). Age and height showed a stronger correlation with the number of erupted primary teeth than all the tested variables together. It was concluded that primary teeth erup-tion is highly influenced by age and height (length) of the child. Using the best regression equation found, a chart was constructed where the variation of the number of erupted primary teeth is given according to age and height of the child.

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