The aim of this study was to investigate the importance of dentofacial appearance on the perceived social attractiveness of young adults in Finland. The dental arrangements studied were incisal crowding, median diastema, protruding incisors, and ideal incisal occlusion. Facial photographs of six young adults were obtained and modified, so that for each face, four different dental arrangements could be portrayed. The photographs were shown to 1007 Finnish students to estimate social and personal characteristics of the person in the photograph. Dental arrangement had a significant influence on the perceived beauty and success of the persons. Test faces with incisal crowding and median diastema were ranked as significantly less intelligent, beautiful and sexually attractive, and judged to belong to lower social class than the same faces with ideal occlusion. Protruded incisors did not affect the ratings compared to ideal occlusion. On the average, female test faces were judged more favourably than the male ones. The results indicate that among Finnish students conspicuous incisal crowding or spacing represent a social disadvantage compared to normal or protruded incisors.

Cross-sectional data on permanent tooth eruption were collected by examining the children and adolescents 5-15 years old in a northeastern municipality of Finland. There were 1008 subjects in the whole sample, 483 girls and 525 boys. The results showed statistically significant differences between the girls and boys in timing of eruption of some permanent teeth, indicating earlier eruption in girls than in boys. This difference was most clearly seen in the second phase of the mixed dentition. Interindividual variation in the emergence age was also wider in the second phase of the mixed dentition. The present results seem to indicate earlier eruption of the permanent teeth in rural children in northeastern Finland than in other parts of the country.

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.

The aim here was to determine the effects of particular types of malocclusion including the effects of combinations of different occlusal anomalies on speech articulation. Occlusal anomalies and articulatory speech disorders, a diagnosis based on errors in place of articulation, were determined for 451 students, mean age 23 years. The present results showed that risk ratios for producing consonants too far anteriorly was greater by 4.5 times for subjects with mesial occlusion, 3.7 times for those with mandibular overjet, 3.4 times for subjects with incisal open bite and 1.7 for those with lateral cross-bite compared to individuals without those occlusal anomalies. This study suggests that incisal open bite alone is rarely associated with articulatory speech disorders, but if present they tend to be mild. Incisal open bite combined with other occlusal anomalies, especially with mesial occlusion, is related to more severe misarticulations of consonants.

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