Influence of the socioeconomic status on the prevalence of malocclusion in the primary dentition

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: To assess the influence of socioeconomic background on malocclusion prevalence in primary dentition in a population from the Brazilian Amazon. METHODS: This cross-sectional study comprised 652 children (males and females) aged between 3 to 6 years old. Subjects were enrolled in private preschools (higher socioeconomic status - HSS, n = 312) or public preschools (lower socioeconomic status - LSS, n = 340) in Belém, Pará, Brazil. Chi-square and binomial statistics were used to assess differences between both socioeconomic groups, with significance level set at P < 0.05. RESULTS: A high prevalence of malocclusion (81.44%) was found in the sample. LSS females exhibited significantly lower prevalence (72.1%) in comparison to HSS females (84.7%), particularly with regard to Class II (P < 0.0001), posterior crossbite (P = 0.006), increased overbite (P = 0.005) and overjet (P < 0.0001). Overall, malocclusion prevalence was similar between HSS and LSS male children (P = 0.36). Early loss of primary teeth was significantly more prevalent in the LSS group (20.9%) in comparison to children in the HSS group (0.9%), for both males and females (P < 0.0001). CONCLUSION: Socioeconomic background influences the occurrence of malocclusion in the primary dentition. In the largest metropolitan area of the Amazon, one in every five LSS children has lost at least one primary tooth before the age of seven.

Prevalence of malocclusion in Chinese schoolchildren from 1991 to 2018: A systematic review and meta‐analysis

“…Surveys conducted in urban areas showed a slightly higher pooled prevalence estimate than those conducted in rural areas, which was similar to a previous study reporting that the risk of malocclusion among children with a superior socioeconomic status is higher . This finding may be partly attributed to an imbalance in the economic development between urban and rural areas.…”

“…38 Surveys conducted in urban areas showed a slightly higher pooled prevalence estimate than those conducted in rural areas, which was similar to a previous study reporting that the risk of malocclusion among children with a superior socioeconomic status is higher. 39 This finding may be partly attributed to an imbalance in the economic development between urban and rural areas. Moreover, children living in urban areas not only have more opportunities to consume processed cereals but also develop more harmful oral habits, such as mouth breathing and prolonged sucking habits, 11 thus increasing their risk of malocclusion compared with their rural counterparts.…”

Factors influencing orthodontic treatment time for non-surgical Class III malocclusion

“…Only association between Class III molar relationship and treatment time has been described 31 . This might be due to the low prevalence of Class III malocclusion, around 5% of a population, 7,18 and the high acceptance of treatment need by professionals and patients for those cases 7,9,21 .…”

Association between maternal education and malocclusion in Mongolian adolescents: a cross-sectional study

“…A possible interpretation for this result of malocclusion as an oral health outcome is that when socioeconomic transition occurs in developing countries or in regions with clear socioeconomic disparity, women with higher levels of education or socioeconomic status change their lifestyle faster, resulting in poorer oral health 2937 38 A fluctuating national socioeconomic position does not always guarantee healthy food, healthy eating behaviours, good provision of information about the potential health risks of new lifestyles or suitable countermeasures, or a healthy living environment. The reverse gradient has been observed for a number of health outcomes, such as breast cancer, malignant melanoma, obesity and lung cancer.…”