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Delight and Disenchant
May 29, 2021 at 2:30 PM
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It is always a delight to notice perikymata. These are signs of incremental growth that appear on the surface of tooth enamel as a series of linear grooves. In humans, each perikyma takes approximately 6–12 days to form. Thus, the number of perikymata can be used to assess how long a tooth crown took to form. They usually disappear as the enamel wears overtime after tooth eruption.
It on the other hand is disenchanting to notice enamel hypoplasia which by definition is a reduced quantity of enamel that results in irregularly shaped teeth, which may be pitted, thinner, or smaller in size. Whereas, reduced quality of the enamel is termed hypomineralisation. Localized hypoplastic defects can be caused by trauma or infection in the primary tooth. Generalized hypoplastic defects can also be due to systemic, environmental, and genetic factors. The most common cause of chronological hypoplasia seen in children is due to vitamin D deficiency.