Report on a dental survey among the school population of French Polynesia: Population surveyed and numbers of teeth present

Abstract

During 6 months of 1963/1964 a joint dental and nutritional survey was carried out on behalf of WHO and FAO among the school children of French Polynesia. The WHO method for assessing oral conditions was used and evaluated. The population examined covered 83 per cent of the total school population or 12,562 children aged 3–19 years living on 12 islands of the 4 archipelagos: Iles du Vent, Iles sous le Vent, Tuamotu and Australes. Counts of primary teeth present, permanent teeth present and permanent teeth missing were tabulated by age, sex, ethnic group (Polynesian, Polynesian-European, Polynesian-Chinese, Chinese, European) and by island group. Age-specific averages of primary teeth present by geographic location and ethnic origin revealed little variance. There was, however, a distinct sex difference in the exfoliation pattern with girls being consistently more advanced than boys. Age-specific averages of permanent teeth present exhibited consistent differences between children of different sex, ethnic group and geographic location. Girls were regularly ahead of boys in tooth development. The mean sex difference was greatest at the age of 9, probably related to the “sexdimorphous eruption pattern” of permanent canines and premolars. The ethnic variation consisted in the precocious appearance of the permanent molars; the Polynesian children had their permanent molars 2 yr earlier than Europeans (the first permanent molar being a “4 yr molar”, the second a “10 yr molar”), the Chinese 1 yr earlier. Replacement teeth appeared less precociously and at equal rates in both Polynesian and Chinese. A distinct geographic variation was observed in the children of the Australes who retained their primary teeth for a longer period of time and had a retarded increase in number of permanent teeth. Concomitant moderate mottling of enamel pointed to a possible influence of dietary fluorides upon the eruption rate. The importance of including tooth counts into internationally comparable epidemiologic studies of oral conditions was stressed. Although the simplified WHO standard method does not allow for counts of individual teeth, this technique was found to be an adequate means for ascertaining basic data with due expediency and reliability.