Abstract

AGUILAR MORENO, Norma Angélica  and  TABOADA ARANZA, Olga. Frequency of malocclusions in association with body posture problems in a school population from the State of Mexico. Bol. Med. Hosp. Infant. Mex. [online]. 2013, vol.70, n.5, pp.364-371. ISSN 1665-1146.

Introduction. Malocclusions are considered alterations or occlusal disorders associated with aesthetic, ethnic and cultural conditions. Malocclusions have been studied and have been related to the influence of dental caries in the development of temporal or permanent dentition and to the presence of poor oral hygiene as possible risk factors. Although there is an abundance of literature related to this topic, very few studies have demonstrated the relationship between body posture and the presence of malocclusions. The objective of the present paper was to determine the frequency of malocclusions associated with posture problems in a population of school children from the State of Mexico. Methods. An observational, prospective, cross-sectional and descriptive study was carried out. Clinical evaluation of malocclusions was performed following the Angle and WHO criteria for the evaluation of postural attitude of children considering correct and incorrect categories by observing their spinal columns and possible alterations in their frontal and sagittal planes. Results. Following the criteria of Angle, the prevalence of malocclusions in the population of the present study was class 1 in 55.2% of the subjects. According to the WHO criteria, the highest frequency corresponded to code 1 of discrete anomalies in 70.7% of the subjects. The prevalence of incorrect position was 52.5%. In our study, results show that when position alterations are present, it corresponds to the presence of malocclusions. According to the classification of Angle and posture alterations, odds ratio (OR) was 10.5 (95% CI 7.0-18.9; p <0.0001) and occlusion conditions related to the WHO with posture alterations were OR 24.4 (95% CI 9.9-65.0; p <0.0001). Conclusions. When malocclusions are shown in children of this age, they are frequently related to posture problems. This stage of life is important due to the fact that this is the period when the majority of morphological and functional changes occur. During this period of life, supervision must be given in order for the child to attain ideal posture as well as functional occlusion.

Keywords : malocclusions; body posture; school children.