ABSTRACT:
Aim: The aim of the study is to determine the anterior spacing and primate spacing in primary dentition. Materials and Methods: A total of 100 children, aged 3 to 6 years old (65 girls and 35 boys) were recruited for the present study, and 100 were determined to meet all of the criteria. The children were examined in their respective schools by a single examiner under good day light and primate and interdental spaces were recorded by intraoral photographs. The inclusion criteria comprised complete primary dentition, no premature loss of primary teeth, no erupted permanent teeth, and no proximally damaged teeth resulting from caries. In contrast, the exclusion criteria comprised eruption of any permanent molar or permanent incisor, and other abnormalities such as supernumerary teeth, fusion, missing teeth, or submerged teeth. Results: Most of the subjects had closed primary dentition. The prevalence of anterior spacing was 43% in the upper arch and 37% in the lower arch. Where as the prevalence of primate space present in the upper arch is 41% and in that of lower arch is 40%. The prevalence of spaced dentition was evaluated. Conclusion: Ethnic factors can affect the ratio of spacing of dentition in children. Most of the 3- to 6-year-old chennai children have closed dentition. The girls have higher incidence of closed dentition than the boys. Primate space is more frequently found in the upper arch than in the lower arch.Future studies are needed to survey the amount of the space and to investigate the influence of amount of spaced dentition on the development of occlusion. Data compiled from various parts of the country, could serve as a database for prediction of malocclusion among the Indian population.