OBJETIVO: verificar a prevalência de más oclusões em 3.466 crianças com 7 a 12 anos de idade, matriculadas em escolas públicas nas cidades de Lins/SP e Promissão/SP. MÉTODOS: considerou-se a relação sagital entre as arcadas dentárias, a relação interarcadas no sentido transversal e a relação de incisivos nos sentidos vertical e horizontal. Na relação intra-arcada avaliou-se a prevalência de diastemas, apinhamentos e perdas dentárias. RESULTADOS: entre as más oclusões, 55,25% das crianças apresentaram uma relação molar de Classe I, seguida de 38% de Classe II e 6,75% de Classe III. Na relação de incisivos houve prevalência de mordida aberta em 17,65% dos casos, seguida de 13,28% para mordida profunda e 5,05% de mordida cruzada anterior. A mordida cruzada posterior foi encontrada em 13,3% das crianças. Na relação intra-arcada, 31,88% das crianças mostraram diastemas; 31,59%, apinhamento; e 4,65%, perdas dentárias.

The objective of this work was to assess the knowledge about orthodontic tooth movement and dental trauma held by a group of orthodontists in specific areas of Brazil. For this purpose, 166 questionnaires with 15 objective questions about this subject were distributed. One hundred and five questionnaires were properly filled and collected after 30 days. It was concluded that, except for avulsion, the knowledge on dental injuries held by the professionals interviewed was considered unsatisfactory, and about 40% of them were not acquainted with the recommendations for the orthodontic movement of traumatized teeth.

The prevalence of MO was higher among children who used pacifiers. According to a general trend, the use of conventional pacifiers was associated to severe anterior open bite and overjet.

The objective of this study was to evaluate the impact of malocclusion on the quality of life (QOL) of adolescents in Brazil. We carried out a cross-sectional study in a sample population of 1015 schoolchildren aged 12 to 15 years from São Luís, Maranhão, Brazil. The explanatory variable was malocclusion, evaluated on the basis of the normative need or the adolescent’s self-perceived need for dental treatment. Normative need for dental treatment was determined by professional diagnosis, made on the basis of Angle’s classification, the Dental Aesthetic Index, and other morphological deviations (e.g., posterior crossbite, posterior open bite, and deep overbite). We analyzed the impact of malocclusion on the QOL using the Portuguese version of the Oral Health Impact Profile-14. Associations were estimated by using the prevalence ratio (PR) in Poisson regression analysis, with hierarchized modeling. An alpha of 5% was adopted as the criterion for statistical significance. The QOL of adolescents was impacted by malocclusion, classified by a normative need for treatment according to the Dental Aesthetic Index (PR = 1.27; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.03–1.56) or by the self-perceived need for treatment (PR = 2.54; 95% CI = 1.81–3.56). Certain sociodemographic variables, including the head of the family (PR = 1.52; 95% CI = 1.02–2.23), greater educational level of the head of the family (PR = 0.32; 95% CI = 0.17–0.61), and female sex (PR = 1.40; 95% CI = 1.05–1.89), had negative associations with QOL. We conclude that malocclusion has a negative impact on the QOL of adolescents, associated with socioeconomic conditions and the cosmetic effects of malocclusion.