Secular change in the timing of dental root maturation in Portuguese boys and girls.
OBJECTIVE
In this study, we compare root formation in a modern sample of living Portuguese children (n = 521), between 6 and 18 years of age, with that of a similar sample of known sex and age Portuguese child skeletons (n = 114), who lived half a century earlier, to assess secular change in dental maturation.


METHODS
The roots of seven developing permanent mandibular teeth were assessed for their maturation in both samples. The median age-of-attainment of root stages was calculated using logistic regression and compared between the samples. The potential influence of mortality bias in root development of the skeletal sample was tested.


RESULTS
No mortality bias effect was detected. We find that the dentition of modern Portuguese boys and girls mature on average 1.22 years and 1.47 years earlier, respectively, compared to their counterparts born one half a century before. Our results also suggest that an earlier timing of attainment of root formation maturational stages was not accompanied by a change in the overall duration of root formation.


CONCLUSIONS
We demonstrate a clear and consistent acceleration in dental root maturation due to secular changes and show that the plasticity in dental development in response to environmental factors is greater than previously thought.
Cardoso
Hugo F V
HF
Universidade de Lisboa, Museu Nacional de História Natural-Departamento de Zoologia e Antropologia & Centro de Biologia Ambiental, 1250-102 Lisboa Lisboa, Portugal. hfcardoso@fc.ul.pt
Heuzé
Yann
Y
Júlio
Paula
P
D000293:Adolescent; D000367:Age Factors; D002648:Child; D046688:Child Mortality; D019229:Dentition, Permanent; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011174:Portugal; D012737:Sex Factors; D014092:Tooth Root / Q000254:growth & development*