The emergence of permanent teeth in Flemish children.

The aim of the present study was to investigate the timing of emergence of permanent teeth in Flanders (Belgium). Data were obtained in the Signal-Tandmobiel projecta, a longitudinal study in a sample of 4468 Flemish children. Survival analysis with a log-logistic distribution was performed to calculate median (and mean) values and 95% CI's for all permanent teeth. The analysis indicated significantly earlier emergence ages in girls than in boys. The emergence pattern turned out to be symmetric in both sexes. Most mandibular teeth emerged significantly before their antagonists, in boys as well as in girls. These findings are in agreement with other studies on the emergence of permanent teeth.