preprints.org > medicine and pharmacology > dentistry and oral surgery > doi: 10.20944/preprints202403.0322.v3

Preprint Article Version 3 Preserved in Portico This version is not peer-reviewed

Version 1 : Received: 5 March 2024 / Approved: 6 March 2024 / Online: 6 March 2024 (11:02:12 CET)
Version 2 : Received: 12 March 2024 / Approved: 12 March 2024 / Online: 13 March 2024 (07:07:54 CET)
Version 3 : Received: 19 March 2024 / Approved: 20 March 2024 / Online: 21 March 2024 (02:19:36 CET)

Malocclusions have a continuously increasing prevalence from a generation to another as a result of climate changes, soil, atmosphere and water pollution. All of these aspects have unfavorable consequences on the nutritional scheme. Thus, nutrition together with other etiopathogenic factors contribute to complex alterations in the somatic development of the entire organism and, implicitly, of the cephalic extremity. The study group included 4147 children from randomly selected schools from Vâlcea County, Romania. The aim of this study is to determine the prevalence of malocclusions in schoolchildren from Vâlcea County, Romania, according to the three main classes of malocclusions (according to Angle’s classification), age groups (from 6 to 10 years old and from 11 to 14 years old), gender (male and female) and place of origin (rural and urban). For Angle class I malocclusions we recorded the highest prevalence (48,78% from the total number of schoolchildren with malocclusions), followed by Angle class II malocclusions (45,85% from the total number of schoolchildren with malocclusions) and for Angle class III malocclusions we found the lowest prevalence (5,37% from the total number of schoolchildren with malocclusions).According to gender, we found the highest prevalence in female gender (29,90% from the total number of female subjects), while in male gender we recorded a prevalence of 27,70% from the total number of male subjects. Regarding the place of origin, there is a higher prevalence of malocclusions in the urban areas (29,16%). The study subgroup included 140 children randomly selected from the total number of subjects from the study group. They were included in a more advanced study. The aim is to find potential associations between the presence of malocclusions and various oral variables. Categorical variables were expressed as numerical values and percentages, and their association was evaluated with either the Chi-square test of association or homogeneity, or the Fisher Exact test. The acquired data were incorporated into a binomial logistic regression model to assess the likelihood of developing malocclusions in relation to the following variables: defective phonation, bruxism, frequency of teeth brushing, onychophagia, oral respiration, infantile deglutition, placing objects between the maxillaries, thumb sucking and salivary aspects. It is also aimed to compare the results obtained with similar ones from the specialized literature.

Angle’s classification; dysfunction; malocclusion; mixed dentition; parafunction; prevalence; statistical analysis

Medicine and Pharmacology, Dentistry and Oral Surgery

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