Epidemiological study of malocclusions of 5 and 6 years old children from Northeastern region of Bulgaria

Abstract

A malocclusion is a misalignment of teeth or incorrect relation between the teeth of the two dental arches. The aim of this presentation is to show the percentage of the children with malocclusions and comparison between children with mild and severe malocclusions from rural and urban regions Materials and methods: 1200 children between 5 and 6 years old from North-eastern Bulgaria (600 urban and 600 rural) were examined. WHO standards were applied and the data was collected in WHO statistic forms, which were modified accordingly. The children were divided in 3 groupshealthy, with mild and with severe malocclusions according to Angles classification. Results: More than a half of the urban children are healthy – 51,5% and the biggest percentage of the malocclusions are mild – 31,3%, only 17,2% have severe malocclusions. The rural children are without malocclusions – 23,8% and – 39,2% of them are with severe orthodontic deformations. Relative shares of children with malocclusions from the urban – 48,5% and rural regions – 76,2% The relative share of the healthy children from both urban and rural regions is 37,7%. The relative share of the children with malocclusions from urban and rural regions is 62,3%. Conclusion: A little percent of the rural children are without malocclusions and more of them are with severe ones. We suggest that specialist have to work on better prevention in these regions.