BACKGROUND: Molar-Incisor Hypomineralization (MIH) prevalence in paediatric patients has been widely studied. However, most of the available studies have utilised criteria that did not offer consistent diagnostic and calibration tools, which resulted in incomparable results.
METHODS: Cross-sectional study. One hundred sixty-two school children aged 7-9 years in the city of Fujairah, UAE have been randomly selected and orally examined for the presence of MIH lesions. This was conducted following Ghanim et al. [2015] guidelines and after calibrating examiners following Ghanim et al. [2017] training manual.
CONCLUSION: MIH prevalence was high in the city of Fujairah, UAE. More studies utilising the standardised criteria are required for valid comparisons. Further research on the aetiology of MIH is also needed.
MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 162 children between the ages of 7 and 9 years were included in this retrospective study, as were their respective parents; the children were examined for MIH while questionnaires centering on stress and family functioning were given to the parents. Statistical analysis was performed using the Mann-Whitney U test and independent samples T-test.
RESULTS: A significant correlation between stress as a contributing factor and MIH was concluded; children with higher stress scores had higher occurrences of MIH. On the contrary, family functioning quality was not found to have a direct correlation with MIH.
CONCLUSIONS: Stress is correlated to MIH and is potentially one of the main causal factors that contribute to the development of the defect.