The Prevalence of Major Types of Occlusal Anomalies among Saudi Middle School Students

Orthodontic treatment need and occlusal traits in the early mixed dentition among 8-9-year old Saudi children

Purpose

The present study aimed to assess the prevalence of occlusal traits and to evaluate the orthodontic treatment need among children aged 8-9 years in Al Ahsa, Eastern region of Saudi Arabia.

Materials and methods

A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted among 282 Saudi children who were randomly selected from those visiting dental outpatient clinics at the College of dentistry in King Faisal University, AlAhsa. All the children were evaluated using the DHC and AC components of Index of Orthodontic Treatment Need (IOTN). Descriptive statistics, chisquare test and Fisher's Exact test were used for data analysis with statistical significance set at p< 0.05.

Results

The most prevalent malocclusal trait was crowding (39.7%) followed by increased overjet (28.4%). About 30.9% and 17% of the children were in definite need for orthodontic treatment according to DHC and AC of IOTN, respectively. There was no statistical difference in the distribution of DHC (p=0.116) and AC (p=0.177) scores between the gender.

Conclusion

This study demonstrated high percentage of malocclusal traits and orthodontic treatment need in the mixed dentition period among 8-9-year-old children in the Eastern region. Emphasis should be placed on early orthodontic screening and treatment in the mixed dentition stage of dental development.

Prevalence of Malocclusion among Schoolchildren in Makkah, Saudi Arabia

BACKGROUND:

The prevalence of malocclusion varies from one region to another and among different age groups and ethnicities. According to the World Health Organization, malocclusion is the third most common abnormal dental condition.

AIM:

This study aims to establish the prevalence of malocclusion among schoolchildren in the Holy City of Makkah, Saudi Arabia.

METHODS:

A cross-sectional study was conducted among 400 Saudi schoolchildren, 12-15 years of age, of both genders, randomly selected from 15 schools in different regions of Makkah. Molar and canine relationships were examined, in addition to traits such as crowding, spacing, overjet, overbite, cross-bite, scissor bite, and maxillary diastema.

RESULTS:

The most prevalent molar relationship was Class I (52.3%), followed by Class II (25%), and Class III (20.5%). Crowding was the most prevalent malocclusion trait (74%), and scissor bite was the least common (2.5%). A statistically significant difference was found between males and females in most of the recorded criteria (P < 0.005).

CONCLUSION:

Among schoolchildren in Makkah, Class I molar relationship was the most prevalent type of occlusion, and the most prevalent malocclusion trait was crowding.

Prevalence of malocclusion among school children of Southern Saudi Arabia

OBJECTIVE:

To evaluate the status of occlusion among school children in city of Abha, Saudi Arabia.

MATERIALS AND METHODS:

The current study was based on the clinical examination of 1998 Saudis (mean age 14.13 ± 0.99 years) who were randomly selected by a multi-stage random sampling technique from the city of Abha. The occlusal parameters recorded in this study were molar and canine relationships, overbite, overjet, crowding, spacing, anterior open bite, anterior crossbite, posterior crossbite, and scissors bite using gloves, light source, mouth mirror, and ruler.

RESULTS:

Class I molar relationship was observed in 1219 (61%) of the total sample, while Class II and III molar relationships were observed in 326 (16.3%) and 154 (7.7%), respectively. Class I–III canine relationships were seen in 1255 (62.8%), 231 (11.6%), and 112 (5.6%) of the sample, respectively. Normal overbite was found in 1490 (74.6%) of cases, while 1515 (75.8%) had normal overjet. The most prevalent malocclusion trait was crowding (26.6%), followed by spacing (20.6%), increased overjet (19.5%), increased overbite (19.4%), posterior crossbite (8.5%), and anterior open bite (6.1%).

CONCLUSIONS:

Crowding was the highest occlusal trait in frequency followed by spacing, increased overjet, and increased overbite. Class I molar and canine relationships, normal overjet, and normal overbite were frequent findings among Saudi adolescents in Abha city.

Orthodontic treatment needs in Saudi young adults and manpower requirements

Objectives:

To evaluate orthodontic treatment needs using the index of orthodontic treatment need (IOTN) components and to estimate the required manpower in the city of Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

Methods:

A cross-sectional study involving 670 participants (390 females and 280 males) collected between November 2016 and April 2017, whose ages ranged from 12-19 years from secondary and high school students. Treatment needs were estimated using the IOTN components, dental health component (DHC), and aesthetic component (AC).

Results:

The results according to the severity of malocclusion using IOTN-DHC found that 24.3% of the cases required severe/extreme need and 54.3% were in the no/slight need category. The most frequent types of malocclusion were crowding (48.8%) followed by increased overjet (21.8%), and spacing (16.1%). Using Pearson’s Chi-squared test, there was a statistically significant association (p<0.001) between IOTN-DHC and IOTN-AC; 51.2% of the sample was in agreement at the mild need category, indicating a strong correlation, with a coefficient of 0.687.

Conclusion:

According to the IOTN’s components, the present study showed that almost one-quarter of the sample had a severe/extreme need for orthodontic treatment. The most frequent type of malocclusion traits according to the severity was crowding followed by increased overjet and then spacing. The Ministry of Health must employ 90-110 orthodontists in Jeddah to meet the demands of the definite needs for orthodontics in adolescents.