Incisor growth in twins during the seventh and eighth months of foetal life

Abstract

SUMMARYWeights of mineralized dental tissue have been determined in incisors dissected from ten pairs of twins failing to survive beyond 7-8 months' gestation. Logarithms of weights were compared as ratios (lower/upper) with data from foetuses of similar development. Intra-twin differences were thus shown to be significantly less than inter-twin differences when comparing central incisors. Lateral incisors were too variable to allow this demonstration. The linear regression equation combining logarithms of lower and upper central incisor weights was suitable for estimating foetal age to within one week of the recorded age.