202 - A Measurement Tool to Visually Analyze Exfoliated Primary Teeth: A Study of the Children of Mothers Pregnant Surrounding the Time of the 2013 Boston Bombing

Purpose: The analysis of deciduous teeth has the potential to serve as a non-invasive window into critical developmental periods. Variations in their morphology can provide insight into early childhood experiences, pathology, stress exposure, and oral health. Here, we developed a measurement tool of “oral health indicators” and assess its strengths and challenges in evaluating set of collected deciduous teeth.

Methods: Nearly 1000 teeth from ~150 children have been collected. These include teeth from mothers who were pregnant during the Boston Marathon bombings and a control population of siblings born at least 1 year prior to the bombing. An interdisciplinary cohort of 9 raters utilized the aforementioned measurement tool to evaluate a subset of 30 maxillary central incisors. The "oral health indicators" include an assessment of tooth type, crown color, localized discoloration, surface roughness, hypoplasia, translucency, chipping, calculus, decay, and restorations. Raters include (2) post-doctoral biological anthropologists, (3) dental students, (1) pediatric dental resident, (1) veteran pediatric dentist and (2) post-graduate/undergraduate research assistants. Inter-rater reliability was performed using percentage agreement, Kappa, and Gwet AC1 statistics.



Results:
Within the sample, there was consistency amongst raters in assessment of tooth type, chipping, translucency, hypoplasia, decay, fillings, and sealants. There were inconsistencies between identification of crown color, surface roughness, and localized discoloration.