Characteristics and distribuition of malocclusion in preschool children

Abstract

This study aimed to evaluate the characteristics and distribuition of malocclusion in 106 preschool children, with ages between 3 to 5 years, through na epidemiologic and cross-sectional study. At the clinical exam, it was verified the presence of overjet and overbite, anterior open bite (AOB) and posterior crossbite (PCB). The data were collected by an examiner (Kappa = 0,86), registered in standardized record, organized with Epi-Info and submitted to Qui-square and Fisher’s Exact tests. The malocclusion was diagnosed in 80.2%, not existing significant differences among the genders (p > 0.05). The overjet (49.1%) and AOB (45.3%) were the most frequent malocclusion. Severe degree of AOB was registered in 64.6% of the children, while PCB more frequently was the unilateral right (44.4%). It was observed that 73.6% of the children have one or more types of deleterious habits, being the pacifier the most frequent (65.4%). A positive association could be observed between deleterious buccal habits and the presence of AOB and PCB (p < 0.001). Due to this study ,it is concluded to be high the prevalence of malocclusion in those children, existing a strong positive association with the presence of deleterious buccal habits.