Prevalence of malocclusion and its relationship with caries among school children aged 11 - 15 years in southern India

OBJECTIVE: To assess the prevalence of malocclusion and its relationship with dental caries among school children in southern India. METHODS: This cross-sectional study included 1,800 students aged 11 - 15 years whose Dental Aesthetic Index (DAI) and dentition status were recorded and analyzed. The chi-square test, ANOVA, and Spearman's correlation tests were carried out. RESULTS: The mean DAI score ± the standard deviation was 18.61 ± 6.1. Approximately 85% of the students (83.0% males, 86.8% females) had DAI scores of < 26 and were classified as not requiring orthodontic treatment. One tenth of the sample had mean DAI scores between 26 - 30 (indicating definite malocclusion and elective treatment), while about 3% had mean scores between 31 - 35 (indicating severe malocclusion and treatment desirability). Only 29 children (1.6%; 16 boys, 13 girls) had a DAI score of > 35, which suggested very severe or handicapping malocclusion requiring mandatory treatment. The mean decayed, missing, filled teeth (DMFT) was 2.28 ± 1.47. A DMFT of > 0 was observed in 91.8% of the study subjects. Children with a DAI score of > 35 were found to have significantly (p < 0.001) higher caries experience as compared to other children. Moreover, the DAI scores showed a significant correlation with the mean DMFT scores (r = 0.368, p < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: A positive correlation was found between the severity of malocclusion and dental caries.