The comparability of examined children with respect to their allocation to the test and control group was also evaluated according to the age of the children at examination (months), time of the eruption of the first tooth and time elapsed
between the eruption of the first tooth and examination. The mean age of the children at examination was 20.2 months (20.1 months in the test group and 20.4 months for children in the control group), instead of the planned 18 months. This
reflected a delay experienced in successfully appointing some mothers and children for dental examinations. The five most frequent months for eruption of the first tooth averaged between the 4th and 8th month of age, accounting for 68.9% of
eruptions. Eruption of the first tooth averaged at 7.1 months of age (7.0 months in the test group and 7.1 months in the control group). Using one-way ANOVA, there was no significant difference between test and control groups.