Epidemiological Study of Periodontal Changes in Children with Malocclusions from Oltenia Region, Romania

Abstract

Objective: The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of periodontal changes in children with malocclusions from Olt and Gorj Counties, Romania. Materials and Method: In this research direction, we took into account: gender (male and female), the place of origin (rural and urban), the classes of maloccusions (according to Angle’s classification) and the existence or not of fixed orthodontic appliances. The study included a number of 4508 children, aged between 6 and 14 years. The data were collected from December 2019 to February 2020, based on the project „Educație pentru sănătate orală. Cercetări privind anomaliile dento-maxilare și leziunile odonto-parodontale la școlarii din Oltenia”, in which several institutions were involved. In order to perform complex statistical tests (Z-test for proportions, Chi-squared test), commands from the XLSTAT module were used. The study was interrupted before it was completed due to the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak. Results: We noted that there is a highly significant difference (p<0.001) between the presence of periodontal changes in children treated with fixed orthodontic appliances (88.36%), respectively without orthodontic treatments (12.37%). Also, we found that there is a highly significant difference (p<0.001) between the presence of changes in the periodontium in children with malocclusions (29.9%), respectively without malocclusions (4.92%). Conclusion: After this research, we concluded that are differences between the presence of periodontal changes in children undergoing treatment with fixed orthodontic appliances, respectively without orthodontic treatments and also between the presence of periodontal changes in children with maloccusions, respectively without malocclusions.