Occlusal Status among 12-16 Year-Old School Children in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

BACKGROUND: Identifying occlusal status in a particular population will be valuable in planning the appropriate preventive and treatment programs. The purpose of this study was to assess the status of occlusion among school children in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This study was conducted at Riyadh, Saudi Arabia from September 2012 to June 2013. A total of 1825 Saudis (1007 males and 818 females) of 12-16 years old were randomly selected from 20 schools in different areas of Riyadh city to determine the status of their occlusion. The examiners assessed molar and canine relationships, spacing and crowding, overjet, overbite, anterior and posterior cross bite. These occlusal parameters were examined by two experienced examiners using a mouth mirror, small light source and calibrated fiber ruler. RESULTS: About 60.11% of Saudis presented with Class I molar relationship while 7.12% and 10.13% of the subjects had Class II and III molar relationship, respectively. The most prevalent canine relationship was Class I (54.13%), followed by Class II (12.4%) and Class III (11.2). Normal overjet and overbite were observed in 76% and 67% of the sample, respectively. The prevalence of malocclusion traits were crowding (45.4%), Spacing (26.9%), excessive over jet (16.4%), posterior cross bite (8.9%), anterior open bite (8.4%) and excessive overbite (6.68%). No statistically significant differences were found between the genders about the prevalence of any occlusion traits (P > 0.05). CONCLUSION: Class I molar relationship, normal overbite, and normal overjet were dominant features among Saudis. Crowding was the most prevalent malocclusion trait, followed by spacing. These findings will help in understanding the occlusion status in order to plan for prevention and treatment of malocclusion in Riyadh city.