Prevalence of the molar incisor hypomineralization in seven to twelve-year-old students of Kerman, Iran, in 2015-2016

BACKGROUND and AIM: Regarding the prevalence of molar incisor hypomineralization (MIH) among students and different populations and continuation of related problems, it seems necessary to assess the prevalence among students in Kerman, Iran. The aim of this study was to review the prevalence of MIH and its relation to the sex of 7-12-year-old students in Kerman during 2015-2016. METHODS: In this cross-sectional study, 779 students from different schools of Kerman were studied after examination. We used a checklist to keep the record of MIH cases, which was filled by an inspector. Discolored (milky white or yellow and brown) teeth were counted as defective. Diagnosis of the MIH was done on basis of similar studies. After extracting the results, the data were analyzed by SPSS software, considering the sex of participants. The confidence interval (CI) of 95% was considered. RESULTS: The prevalence of MIH was 6.5% among the studied students (51 students were diagnosed). There was no significant relationship between MIH and the students’ sex. Among the 169 obviously defective teeth, the most prevalence was for lower right molar (54.9%), upper right central (52.9%), and lower left molar (49.0%). CONCLUSION: Although the prevalence of MIH among the students was relatively low, it seems that awareness among the students and their parents’ needs to be enhanced so that they can take better actions for the treatment of the defective teeth.