Prevalence of Malocclusion and its Relationship with Socio-demographic Factors, Dental Caries and Oral Hygiene Status in 12-15 Years Children of Lucknow City

Abstract

Introduction: Oral health diseases and disorders can negatively affect a children’s life. Malocclusion is defined as any irregularity in occlusion beyond the accepted. Malocclusion is the most common oral health problem which can cause dental decay, gum problems, and fluorosis as well. The causes of malocclusion can be genetic or environmental, along with other local factors like negative oral habits, dental abnormalities, shape and size of the teeth. Aim: To assess the prevalence of malocclusion and its relationship with socio-demographic factors, dental caries and oral hygiene status in 12-15 years old school children in Lucknow city. Materials and Methods: The present study was the descriptive cross-sectional study which was conducted in Department of Public Health Dentistry, Sardar Patel Post-Graduate Institute of Dental and Medical Sciences, Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, India.The study included 12-15 years old school children with sample of 851 students. Data was collected regarding socio-demographic factors, dental caries (World Health Organization (WHO) 2013), Oral Hygiene Index (OHI) status and Dental Aesthetic Index (DAI) (WHO, 1997) to evaluate the relationship with malocclusion. Categorical data was tested for independence using Chi-square test and Multiple Non-Linear Regression analysis was used to find the association of malocclusion with socio-demographic details, oral hygiene status and dental caries and p-value significant was set at <0.05. Results: Total of 851 children participated in the study, out of which 403 were males and 448 were females. Malocclusion prevalence (i.e. DAI >25) among the study population was found to be 23.1%. Malocclusion was found to be significant with age (p-value <0.023), Socio-Economic Status (SES) (p-value<0.001), dental caries (p-value<0.001) and Oral Hygiene Index (OHI) (p-value<0.001). Conclusion: Malocclusion prevalence in the present study was found to be 23.1%. The prevalence of definite, severe and very severe (handicapped) malocclusion was 13.6%, 8.1% and 1.4%, respectively. However, positive relationship was found between the age, socio-economic status, OHI and dental caries with DAI.