The December 2016 issue of European Archives of Paediatric Dentistry contained a short communication (Anthonappa and King 2016) demonstrating the dentition of a 4-year-old Chinese female whose primary canines were unerupted. From the orthopantomogram shown in the article, four canines which were not erupted had approximately a half-sized root length. According to the textbook Paediatric Dentistry—A Clinical Approach by Koch and Poulsen (2009), the average age of a child with a half-sized primary canine is 1½ years, while the age of a child with a half-sized permanent canine is approximately 8 years.

It is well known that patients with agenesis in general are late in reaching dental maturity (Daugaard et al. 2010). With this background in mind, we suggest that the four canines in the article presented are primary canines severely late in maturity and that agenesis of the permanent canines has occurred. If this is correct, then primary canine maturity and eruption should be studied as a predictor of permanent canine agenesis.

This short communication forms an excellent basis for future studies on the relationship between maturity of primary dentition and agenesis of permanent teeth.