A pilot study to determine the order of emergence of permanent central incisors and permanent first molars of children in the Colchester area of the U.K.

Over the period of one calendar month, 505 children in the Colchester area of England were examined. The data gathered from the 12 non-Caucasian children was not used, leaving 493 Caucasian children (255 boys and 238 girls). Their mean age was 6.48 years, with a range of 4.49-8.75 years and 164 children had no permanent teeth leaving 329 children with a total of 2,238 permanent teeth present. A permanent tooth was deemed to have emerged if any part of it was visible in the mouth. The forensic significance of the results of this pilot study are that there is no significant difference (t = 0.407, P > 0.2) between the age of emergence of permanent central incisors (mean age 6.23 years) and permanent first molars (mean age 6.29 years). On the whole, lower central incisors emerge before upper central incisors and there is no significant difference (t = 0.899, P > 0.2) in the emergence times of upper and lower permanent first molars. There is no significant difference (t = 0.876, P > 0.2) in the emergence times of permanent central incisors for boys and girls (6.22 and 6.25 years respectively) and there is no significant difference (t = 1.413, P > 0.1) in the emergence times of permanent first molars for boys and girls (6.40 and 6.08 years respectively).