Occlusion among a group of Tanzanian urban schoolchildren

Abstract

Occlusion and its variations were studied in a group of primary schoolchildren (n = 642, age 11-18 yr) in Dar es Salaam. Most children (96%) had Angle's Class I occlusion. Distal and mesial bite were rare in the sample, representing 3% and 1%, respectively. Crowding was found to be the most common dental disorder (16%) and the frequency of moderate and severe crowding decreased with age. No clear differences in occlusion were found between boys and girls. The results of this study show smaller occlusal variation compared with Caucasian children, and also some differences compared with previous African studies.

Spacing and crowding among African and Caucasian children

“…This agrees with previous reports indicating that crowding is rare in the primary dentition, but increases as dental development proceeds (1, 22, 31). The finding contradicts a previous Tanzanian report (35) according to which crowding was more common in the younger age groups than in the oldest ones.…”

“…With respect to gender, no difference was found for spacing being in agreement with earlier studies (3, 5–7, 14), but in contradiction to other studies on comparable populations where boys had more often spacing in the maxillary and mandibular incisal region than girls had (8, 16, 28). Although in our study no gender difference was found for crowding, being in agreement with other reports (6, 7, 35, 41), in some studies it has been reported to occur more frequently in females than in males (1, 8, 22, 28).…”

Spacing and crowding among African and Caucasian children

“…This agrees with previous reports indicating that crowding is rare in the primary dentition, but increases as dental development proceeds (1, 22, 31). The finding contradicts a previous Tanzanian report (35) according to which crowding was more common in the younger age groups than in the oldest ones.…”

“…With respect to gender, no difference was found for spacing being in agreement with earlier studies (3, 5–7, 14), but in contradiction to other studies on comparable populations where boys had more often spacing in the maxillary and mandibular incisal region than girls had (8, 16, 28). Although in our study no gender difference was found for crowding, being in agreement with other reports (6, 7, 35, 41), in some studies it has been reported to occur more frequently in females than in males (1, 8, 22, 28).…”

Occlusal features of 5-year-old Greek children. A national pathfinder survey.

“…In our study population, bilateral mesial and distal step molar relationship present almost equal percentages in accordance with previous studies [4], while in other populations mesial step is reported in much higher percentages than distal step [16, 17,20], and even predominate in several other studies [16,21]. Such differences between populations may be attributed to ethnic predilection, as has been previously suggested [22,23].…”

Prevalence of Crossbite Malocclusion Among Patients Visiting a Dental Hospital

“…The prevalence of posterior bite being 5.6% was in agreement with the study done in Kerala in India, Tanzania and Finnish (54,56,57). This prevalence was higher than that which was reported in Iran, Italy, Nalgonda in India (58)(59)(60).…”

Spacing and crowding among African and Caucasian children

“…This agrees with previous reports indicating that crowding is rare in the primary dentition, but increases as dental development proceeds (1, 22, 31). The finding contradicts a previous Tanzanian report (35) according to which crowding was more common in the younger age groups than in the oldest ones.…”

“…With respect to gender, no difference was found for spacing being in agreement with earlier studies (3, 5–7, 14), but in contradiction to other studies on comparable populations where boys had more often spacing in the maxillary and mandibular incisal region than girls had (8, 16, 28). Although in our study no gender difference was found for crowding, being in agreement with other reports (6, 7, 35, 41), in some studies it has been reported to occur more frequently in females than in males (1, 8, 22, 28).…”

Occlusal features of 5-year-old Greek children. A national pathfinder survey.

“…In our study population, bilateral mesial and distal step molar relationship present almost equal percentages in accordance with previous studies [4], while in other populations mesial step is reported in much higher percentages than distal step [16, 17,20], and even predominate in several other studies [16,21]. Such differences between populations may be attributed to ethnic predilection, as has been previously suggested [22,23].…”

Prevalence of Crossbite Malocclusion Among Patients Visiting a Dental Hospital

“…The prevalence of posterior bite being 5.6% was in agreement with the study done in Kerala in India, Tanzania and Finnish (54,56,57). This prevalence was higher than that which was reported in Iran, Italy, Nalgonda in India (58)(59)(60).…”

Spacing and crowding among African and Caucasian children

“…This agrees with previous reports indicating that crowding is rare in the primary dentition, but increases as dental development proceeds (1, 22, 31). The finding contradicts a previous Tanzanian report (35) according to which crowding was more common in the younger age groups than in the oldest ones.…”

“…With respect to gender, no difference was found for spacing being in agreement with earlier studies (3, 5–7, 14), but in contradiction to other studies on comparable populations where boys had more often spacing in the maxillary and mandibular incisal region than girls had (8, 16, 28). Although in our study no gender difference was found for crowding, being in agreement with other reports (6, 7, 35, 41), in some studies it has been reported to occur more frequently in females than in males (1, 8, 22, 28).…”

Occlusal features of 5-year-old Greek children. A national pathfinder survey.

“…In our study population, bilateral mesial and distal step molar relationship present almost equal percentages in accordance with previous studies [4], while in other populations mesial step is reported in much higher percentages than distal step [16, 17,20], and even predominate in several other studies [16,21]. Such differences between populations may be attributed to ethnic predilection, as has been previously suggested [22,23].…”

Prevalence of Crossbite Malocclusion Among Patients Visiting a Dental Hospital

“…The prevalence of posterior bite being 5.6% was in agreement with the study done in Kerala in India, Tanzania and Finnish (54,56,57). This prevalence was higher than that which was reported in Iran, Italy, Nalgonda in India (58)(59)(60).…”