Time and sequence of eruption of permanent teeth in Spanish children.

AIM: This was to investigate permanent teeth emergence in children and teenagers of Madrid (Spain) and to compare the data with those reported in the literature. STUDY DESIGN: cross-sectional descriptive study. This study comprises data from 752 children and adolescents in Madrid (Spain). Sex, age and present permanent teeth were recorded. RESULTS: In our study permanent teeth eruption occurred between 6.99 and 12.45 years in girls and between 7.06 and 12.81 years in boys. Overall we found no statistically significant differences in the timing of emergence between homologous contralateral teeth, however we noted that the lower arch teeth erupt before those of the upper arch and the eruption of permanent teeth occurs earlier in girls than in boys. The sequence of tooth eruption differed in both jaws but was the same in both sexes. CONCLUSION: Clinical examination of teeth is a simple tool to calculate tooth eruption intervals. These findings in a Spanish population are relevant for different dental setting and should be periodically reconfirmed.