Aims: The aims of the present study were to determine if primary teeth eruption and the presence of
enamel defect are affected by low birth weight and prematurely of birth. Materials and Methods: The
total subjects of (420) child aged 4 – 24 months were included in this study, consisted of (210) prematurely
born (<37 gestational weeks and birth weight < 2.500 Kg) children and 210 control children (&#8805;40
gestational weeks and birth weight &#8805; 2.500 Kg). Those children selected randomly the children who
came to the primary health care centers with their mother for vaccination and the mothers asked to participate
in this study. For each child, clinical exanimation was performed in dental chair. The criterion
used for enamel defect to include various enamel hypoplasias, deficiency of enamel in the form of pits,
grooves or other quantitative surface loss and enamel hypocalcifications and opacities. Data were analyzed
using numbers, percentages, means and standard deviations. T – test, Z – test Chi – square (X2)
test were used for determining the differences concerning different variables. The differences were
considered significant at p&#8804; 0.05. Results: There was no significant difference (p>0.05) between different
genders numbers among in each age group for the preterm and control children. The results
showed significantly (p<0.05) delayed eruption of the primary teeth in the prematurely born children as
compared with the control children in all age groups except in 4 – 6 months age group, also there was
significantly higher percentages of enamel defect present in preterm children, than in control children
in all age groups except in 4 – 6 months age group. Conclusions: The findings indicated that the eruption
of deciduous teeth was delayed and the percentage of enamel defect was significantly increased in
prematurely born children.

Premature birth --- primary dentition

Background: Normal occlusal features of primary dentition are crucial for normal development of the permanent dentition. Breastfeeding is an important factor for both general and dental health of children. Aim: The aim of the present study is to assess the impact of the breastfeeding duration on the prevalence of normal occlusal features of the primary dentition among preschool children in Baghdad.Materials and Methods: The sample was 630 Iraqi children (270- boys, 360 girls), aged 3-5 years selected from four kindergartens in Baghdad city. The study was carried out through questionnaire and clinical examination. Normal occlusal features were examined as the presence or absence of interincisive spaces (IS) and primate spaces (PS), terminal relationship of the primary second molar that classified as: Flush terminal (FT), mesial step (MS) and distal step (DS). The presence or absence of ideal incisor overbite was also recorded. Data were statistically analyzed using SPSS (version 21). Chi square and z test were used in data analysis.Result:s A significant relation was present between the duration of breastfeeding and the presence of: primate and interincisive spaces, flush terminal plane, mesial terminal plane and ideal incisor overbite.Conclusion Breastfeeding duration has a positive impact on the development of normal occlusal features of the primary dentition. Efforts should be taken to enhance the knowledge of the community, especially the mothers, about this impact to encourage them to practice exclusive breastfeeding for more than 12 months

Breastfeeding --- Normal Occlusal features --- Primary dentition --- Children health