Socioeconomic differences in permanent teeth mineralization of Portuguese girls and boys from Porto, Portugal.

Socioeconomic differences in dental maturation can be used to examine the impact of environmental factors on dental maturation. The purpose of this study is to assess socioeconomic differences in dental maturation of the seven permanent mandibular teeth (I1-M2). A total of 2114 panoramic radiographs of Portuguese children, adolescents and young adults were studied. The sample was divided into a high socioeconomic status (SES) (n = 925), and a low SES group (n = 1189). Ages ranged between 5 and 26 years. Demirjian's stages were used to assess the maturation of the seven mandibular teeth on the left side. Median-age of attainment of each stage and each tooth was calculated and compared between groups using binary logistic regression. Low SES girls showed a consistent advancement in dental maturation across the entire dentition. Low SES boys, however, showed more often a delayed maturation relative to their high SES counterparts, but this pattern was not consistent and a clear socioeconomic difference seems to be absent in boys. While this study was not able to further explore the causes of the dental advancement in girls, it is hypothesized that it might be related to a higher prevalence of overweight/obesity, and possibly caries, in low SES girls, compared to the SES difference in prevalence in boys.