Prevalence of Malocclusion among the Saudi Population in Ha’il City of Saudi Arabia

Abstract

Background: Malocclusion is recognized as one of the most common dental problems affecting the young adults and adolescence globally. Oral functions and facial aesthetics are influenced by the severity of malocclusion and it's of great concern to the individual, their families and health authorities as well. Most of the reported studies for Kingdom of Saudi Arabia are from the eastern, southern and central region. To the best of our knowledge no data is available for the northern region of Hail; therefore the aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of malocclusion among the population of Hail city. Methodology: Descriptive study having a cross sectional study, convenient sample size of 504 Saudi populations between the age group of 13 – 50 years. Informed consent was taken from the participants before conducting the examination, parents’ consent was sought for children. Malocclusion was recorded as described by WHO, oral health Survey, and basic methods. Each subject was examined for the type of malocclusion according to Angle’s classification. Results: Most predominant malocclusion was Angle’s Class I 41.7% in females and 26.2% in males.15.4% males and 23.3% females had excessive overjet (>2mm) compared to 38% males and (24.3%) females who had reduced overjet (2mm) whereas 32.3% males and 20.5% females had reduced overbite (<1 mm), anterior cross bite was reported in 5.6%males and (1.3%) females and open bite in 5.6% males and 5.5 % females. Conclusion: Within the limitations of this study, the prevalence of malocclusion in Hail region of Saudi Arabia is comparable with that of other regional studies.Most of the study participants exhibited Angles class I occlusal features with normal overjet and overbite.