34 females and 20 males, all with one or more submerging deciduous molars, were compared with 30 female and 30 male controls. When groups were matched for sex, age and occlusion no conclusive evidence could be found to support the hypothesis that subjects with submerging deciduous molars have different facial proportions. There was a higher prevalence of developmentally absent pre-molar teeth in the submerging group (p less than 0.001). When males and females were compared, no significant differences were found in the number of submerging deciduous molars per patient, the location of those teeth or the number of quadrants involved.