Abstract

CARVALHO, Denise Maciel; ALVES, José Bento  and  ALVES, Maria Helena. Prevalence of malocclusion in schoolchildren with low socioeconomic status. RGO, Rev. gaúch. odontol. (Online) [online]. 2011, vol.59, n.1, pp. 71-77. ISSN 1981-8637.

OBJECTIVE: To characterize the prevalence of malocclusion in children 5 to 7 years, with low socioeconomic status, and contribute to the planning of interventions in Uberaba, Minas Gerais, Brazil. METHODS: We randomly selected three schools to participate in the study, located in three health districts. Children were examined in the school environment by trained examiners and assistants. We examined the population of children whose parents consented for their children to participate in the study. The instrument used for data items contained in the classifications of Fisk and Moyers and other aid in the diagnosis of malocclusion. The relationship between malocclusion and collected variables was determined using chi-square test. The data were analyzed with SPSS 14.0 and the level of significance was set at α < 0.05. RESULTS: 87.7% of children had some type of malocclusion, and 55.8% had white skin or brown and occlusion type I (χ² = 39.210 p<0.0001). 88.6% had normal speech, and children under 6 years showed a high rate of abnormality in speech (49.2%) compared with other children (χ² = 18.455 p<0.05). The prevalence of crossbite was 12.6%. CONCLUSION: The prevalence of malocclusion was high in children 5 to 7 years with low socioeconomic status in Uberaba, MG. It is important to develop guidelines for children and their families and to involve the public health system to implement preventive strategies.

Keywords : Child; Students; Malocclusion; Prevalence.