Prevalence and associated factors for dental arch crowding in mixed dentition cases reporting to private dental college

Abstract

The mixed dentition is an important developmental state, to the undisturbed occlusal relationship. The eruption of the first permanent molar plays a critical role in maintaining the inter arch space and sagittal occlusal relationship. Dental crowding occurs when there is discrepancy between required space and space present between arch, & most commonly see. In the anterior teeth. Crowding represents one of the most frequent complaints of patients seeking orthodontists. The aim of the study is to assess the prevalence of crowding in mixed dentition cases reporting to private dental college. It is a university setting study, conducted in a private dental college. 1082 children in their mixed dentition stage of tooth development were randomly selected. Data regarding crowding was obtained after reviewing case sheets of patients in the age group 6-12 years. The data was entered in excel and imported to SPSS and variables were defined. The data included presence of crowding, dental malocclusion present and the arch involved. Descriptive statistics was used to describe the age and gender distribution of the study population. Chi square test was used to associate crowding with age, gender, dental malocclusion .Out of 1082 children in the age group between 6-12 years, crowding was present in 70 children (6.47%). Most common arch involved in crowding was the mandibular arch(56%). Positive correlation was found between age and crowding. 10-12 years old children had maximum crowding (3.14%) (p<0. 001). Positive correlation was found between gender and crowding (p<0.05). Males had maximum crowding (4.62%) when compared to females (1.85%). No association was found between dental malocclusion and crowding. Within the limits of the study, crowding was preva-lent in 6.47% of the children in the mixed dentition stage. 10-12 years old children had maximum crowding which was statistically significant. Also, males had maximum crowding than females which was statistically significant.