The Threat to the Survival of the Permanent First Molar in Children from Developing Nations

Like other types of human teeth, the permanent first molar (PFM) has important masticatory function. Since its development and eruption is almost predictable, and the tooth can resist taphonomic conditions, it can form part of possible materials for use in forensic dentistry. The enamel, which forms the coronal outer covering of the tooth, is the hardest tissue of the tooth and is seen with lustrous surface that evenly reflects light and the glow of its subsurface. During the initial development of enamel, and even after erupting within the oral cavity, this tissue can be affected by various factors within and without the body. Excessive intake in the body of fluoride containing foods, medications, other chemicals or factors like malnutrition, can affect the development, quality and integrity of the enamel. Resultant defects like dental fluorosis, hypoplasia, hypomineralization, amelogenesis imperfecta etc. will often ensue. Further, traumatic injuries, erosion and abration are other insults that also affect the integrity of enamel post-eruptively. Capping to all those insults to the enamel is the common scourge of dental caries that also affect the tooth after eruption.