Prevalence of Malocclusion in University of Khartoum Students
Author(s): Gamar A Suleiman, Amal H Abuaffan and Marwa M Hamid*
Abstract
This study aimed to assess the prevalence of malocclusion in University of Khartoum students in sagittal, transverse, and vertical directions. In addition, providing information on the gender distribution of occlusal variation. Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted among 2550 University students (1305 females and 1245males), aged 18-22-year-old. The method for epidemiological registration devised by Björk et al (1964) was used. The prevalence of dental malocclusion and the interrelationship between some malocclusion traits were investigated. Results: Angle's Class I normal occlusion was the most prevalent trait (58%) followed by Class I malocclusion (30.2%), Class II (7.5%), and Class III (4.3%). Approximately 89% of the subjects had grade 1 deep bite. 3.2% of the males and 3.6 of the females had grade 1 frontal open bite. Scissor bite was the commonest transverse malocclusion (0.7% and 0.3%) on the right and left side respectively compared to (0.2% and 0.1%) cross bite on the right and left side respectively. The majority of the sample showed no space problem in right and left sides in both upper and lower jaws, more spaces and crowding problems were recorded in the upper and the lower anterior segments. Anterior open bite seemed to have a positive correlation with Class II in this sample. Conclusion: The most prevalent malocclusion among University of Khartoum students was class I malocclusion. The reported prevalence among Sudanese adults was much lower than that reported by a previous study in 12-year-old Sudanese children.