A study of 525 3-4-year-old children in nursery schools and day-care centres was carried out to assess occlusal relationships and the presence of spacing or crowding of teeth. No significant differences in occlusal relationships were found between boys and girls (P > 0.05). Bilateral straight terminal planes of molars and class 1 canine relationship were the most prevalent features (74.5% and 73.3% respectively). Most of the children had 'normal' vertical and transverse occlusal relationships. The most common sites of spacing were mesial to maxillary canines and distal to mandibular canines. 32% of the children were found to have generalized anterior segment spacing, 4% showed exclusively anthropoid spaces, and 18% had either contact between all the teeth or crowding in the anterior region.

Objective: To evaluate longitudinally the occlusal changes between the deciduous and early mixed dentition stages in Nigerian children. Materials and Methods:The occlusion of 145 3-to 5-year-old children was initially assessed at a popular pre-primary school center in Ibadan, Nigeria in October 2002, using the Foster and Hamilton criteria. The same group of children was followed up for reexamination in October 2006 in the primary school section of the center. Of 61 students who were located and reexamined, 54 (26 male and 28 female) qualified for the study. The molar relationship was assessed using Angle classification, and other occlusal features such as spacing, crowding, overbite, and overjet were also assessed. Descriptive statistics, chi-square test, as well as Pearson correlation coefficient, were applied as appropriate in the analysis of the data. Results: Of 32 subjects initially having a flush terminal relationship (Class 1), 22 (68.7%) resulted in a Class I molar relationship, seven (21.9%) had Class II, and three (9.4%) had asymmetric relationships. Mesial step (Class III) was formed initially in 18 and 11 (61.1%) resulted in Class I. A Class III developed in five (27.8%). Significant positive correlations were found for molar relationship, crowding, overbite, and overjet variables (P Ͻ .01) between the two periods of assessments, but all were below 0.7 value. Conclusions: Angle Class I molar relationship was favored by initial flush terminal plane and mesial step relationships in the deciduous dentition.

617 schoolchildren 10-19 years of age were examined in order to assess the prevalence of malocclusion in a population sample in Lagos. Class I occlusion accounted for 76.8%, followed closely by Class II malocclusion, 14.7%, and Class III malocclusion, 8.4%. Crowding was recorded in 15.1% of the cases, most of which occurred anteriorly. The present study shows some interesting differences in the prevalences of malocclusions compared to studies on Caucasian subjects.

Introduction:The practice of orthodontics is very young in South-South Nigeria and there is need for base line data for informed planning. This study was carried out to investigate the self-perception of malocclusion among Nigerian school children aged 12 to 18 years in order to compare their perception with that of an orthodontist and also to determine the influence of gender and age on self-perception.Materials and Methodology:A total of 612 randomly selected schoolchildren comprising 299 (48.9%) males and 313 (51.1%) females with a mean age of 15 + 2.0 years were included in the study, the Aesthetic Component (AC) of the Index of Orthodontic Treatment Need (IOTN) was the instrument used to measure the perception of malocclusion by both the school children and the orthodontist.Results:Majority of the students (82.5%) rated their teeth towards the more attractive end of the scale (Grades 1-4). Although self - perception was not found to be related to gender, older children (16-18 years) had an increased level of perception of need. Males and older children were found to be more in need of treatment by the orthodontist.Conclusions:A significant difference was found between the orthodontist’s rating and the students’ ratings of the attractiveness of their occlusions. Age and gender were not found to influence self- perceived orthodontic treatment need. Therefore, for effective orthodontic care, self- perception and not only professional assessment must be taken into consideration when formulating treatment plans to ensure patient satisfaction.