Influence of nutritional state on radiographic variables in upper canine teeth.

Permanent upper canine tooth impaction is related to both genetic causes and nutritional and local causes. Based on radiographic studies of children, Haavikko, 1974, calculated the median of the degree of calcification for each tooth according to age. The aim of our study was to establish associations between certain radiographic variables with respect to upper canine tooth buds and nutritional state in a population of schoolchildren. Thirty-three children of chronological ages 3 to 9 years from a population of rural schoolchildren took part in the study. The children were classified into three groups: malnourished, control and overweight. For the radiographic study we used a systematized technique using DSJ 70 kV radiographic equipment with 8 mA and Insight intraoral film (E F speed; Eastman Kodak, Rochester, NY). The images obtained from the 66 radiographic studies were scanned. The program Image tool for Windows was used to measure: (a) distance from the canine cusp to the intermaxillary suture, (b) outer angle formed between the aris of the canine tooth and the plane that cuts the intermaxillary suture perpendicularly, (c) degree of calcification (d) presence of supernumerary teeth. The values of these variables were analyzed statistically with the Kruskal-Wallis test of the SPSS program. The results were: (a) For the distance variable there is no significant difference between the malnourished and control groups (p > 0.05), although there are differences (p < 0.001) between the control and overweight groups; (b) There is no significant difference between nutritional states for the angle variable; (c) For the ratio between chronological age and dental age calculated according to degree of calcification, significant differences were found between the malnourished and overweight groups (p < 0.01), while the control group showed no difference regarding Haavikko's values (p > 0.05). Both the distance of the canine tooth bud and its degree of calcification vary in patients with nutritional disorders, therefore it would be useful to conduct a radiographic study at school age to detect tooth anomalies and reduce their consequences.