Submerging primary molars in Israeli rural children.

Dental study casts of 1530 Israeli rural children aged 3-13 years, evenly represented by the sexes, were examined for submersion of their primary molars, 24.8% of the children had one or more of these teeth affected. Out of 8250 teeth at risk, 8.81% were submerged to various degrees. Over 50% of them were primary mandibular first molars, close to 26% were primary mandibular second molars. The number of affected teeth rose with age in both sexes. Sex differences were significant only at 5-7 years, when girls were more frequently affected. Children with one or two affected teeth predominated. The submerged teeth were predominantly located in one or in both quadrants of the same arch. The degree of submersion became more severe with age.