兒童齒列發育與生長特徵之相關性研究

Abstract

本臨床研究的目的在於探討台灣兒童的齒弓型態與生理特徵、餵食習慣及口腔習慣的關聯性，並統計現代台灣的兒童的牙齒大小型態，特別針對乳牙，做初步的探究。透過研究牙齒型態與身體特徵的關聯性，進而預估兒童生長發育及評估全身性健康。過去關於牙齒型態的研究多為恆齒及成人，較少探討乳牙、兒童生長特徵以及出生時的身體基本資料。本研究將採取橫斷面研究，從兒童牙科門診募集115名孩童 ，利用數位口腔掃描機取得齒弓模型，運用量測生理特徵，包括身高、體重、頭圍等，以及填寫相關問卷來進行相關分析。本研究的結果呈現牙齒與牙弓之間有性別的差異性，男性的牙齒與牙弓大小有較大的趨勢。多生牙與缺牙等牙齒數目異常亦會造成齒弓的變化，多生牙組別的牙齒有偏大的趨勢且乳牙犬齒間距較寬，相反的缺牙組別則是牙齒有較小的趨勢。出生時的生理特徵與乳牙大小有明顯正相關，而測量時的生理特徵則發現與牙弓大小有顯著正相關。本研究也發現在恆牙第一大臼齒與同一象限的第一乳臼齒以及第二乳臼齒之間有顯著的關聯性。餵食習慣與口腔習慣在本研究中並未找出與牙弓大小有顯著關聯，在母親親餵的兒童有發現較低吸食奶嘴的比例。從本研究的結果可以得知齒弓型態與生理特徵的關聯性，未來可針對其中機轉做更進一步的探討，以發展小兒醫學的應用。

Clinical studies on tooth morphology were primarily done on permanent teeth with adults. However, to shed lights on how the tooth morphology and the physiological characteristics impact each other, it is essential to include children as subjects and conduct a cross-sectional study. In this work, 115 Taiwanese children’s physiological characteristics, feeding habits and oral habits were investigated to explore the relationship between those and the dentitional development. The morphometric norms of teeth and arch development were also established with an emphasis on the deciduous dentition. We found that physiological characteristics at birth were strongly correlated with deciduous tooth size, while physiological characteristics at measurement were strongly correlated with dental arch size. In addition, abnormal numbers of teeth such as supernumerary teeth and tooth agenesis can also cause differences in dental arches. A strong correlation was also observed between the permanent first molars and the first and second primary molars in the same quadrant. Based on these results, it is clear that we can monitor children’s growth and evaluate their general health through dental examination other than simply the physical characteristics. The findings in this study have a potential to be beneficial to the field of pediatric medicine.