The pattern of malocclusion in a sample of orthodontic patients from Turkey

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to determine the prevalence of individual traits of malocclusion in a sample of Turkish orthodontic patients. STUDY DESIGN: The present study was based on the examination of dental casts, intraoral photographs and panoramic radiographs of 1507 orthodontic patients (884 females and 623 males). The relationship of the first upper and lower molars according to the Angle's classification, overjet, overbite, crowding, spacing, posterior crossbite, scissor bite, maxillary median diastema were examined. The Pearson chi-squared and Fisher's Exact tests were used to determine potential differences in the distribution of malocclusion when stratified by gender. RESULTS: The study demonstrated that only 52 (3.5%) of the subjects had normal occlusion. Class I malocclusion was found in 626 (41.5%), Class II Division 1 in 435 (28.9%), Class II Division 2 in 142 (9.4%) and Class III malocclusion in 252 (16.7%) subjects of all examined. Normal overbite, normal overjet, crossbite on both sides and severe crowding in the upper dental arch were observed more frequently in females (P<0.05), however, increased overbite and moderate crowding in the upper dental arch were observed more frequently in males (P<0.05). CONCLUSION: The results of this study showed that crowding in the upper and lower dental arches in a sample of Turkish population was the most frequent of all anomalies recorded with ranges of 70.0% and 47.3%, respectively.