Radiographic study of delayed tooth development in patients with dental agenesis.

Introduction: The aims of this study were to compare the radiographic development of permanent teeth in a group of children affected by dental agenesis with an unaffected control group and to determine the effects of confounding factors including the severity of the dental agenesis, age, sex, ethnicity, and the number of stages used to estimate dental age.

Methods: A single-center retrospective cross-sectional study of dental panoramic tomographs was undertaken between July 2007 and April 2008 in a postgraduate teaching school. A total of 139 patients (aged 9-18 years) were recruited from the orthodontic clinic on the basis of predetermined inclusion and exclusion criteria to either a dental agenesis group or a control group.