Prevalence of malocclusion and associated habits in 4 to 6-year-old preschool children in Kuantan, Pahang

• Main Authors: Abd Rahman, Mohamad Hafiz, Haris Fadzilah, Nur Aisyah, Nasir, Siti Hajjar, Che Musa, Muhd Firdaus
• Format: Conference or Workshop Item
• Language: English; English
• Published: 2020
• Subjects: RK Dentistry
• Online Access: http://irep.iium.edu.my/80588/19/80588%20Prevalence%20of%20malocclusion.pdf; http://irep.iium.edu.my/80588/13/80588%20poster.pdf; http://irep.iium.edu.my/80588/
• Institution: Universiti Islam Antarabangsa Malaysia

Introduction: This study was conducted to investigate the prevalence of malocclusion and their associated habit in the deciduous dentition of preschool children in the city of Kuantan, Malaysia. Material and methods: This study was conducted in IIUM Specialist clinic setting where the sample selected were children from 4 different preschools aged between 4-6 years old. Questionnaire and consent forms were distributed to their guardians and collected a week before the study. The children’s dentition was examined and all malocclusion present was recorded. The association between malocclusion and oral habits was analyzed using SPSS. Results: A total of 76 preschool children participated in this study and 55.3% of the children presented with dental malocclusion. The highest malocclusion recorded in sagittal direction was reduced overjet (28.9 %), whereas for malocclusion in transversal direction, midline deviation showed the highest percentage of 30.3%. Deep overbite showed the highest percentage of malocclusion in vertical direction which was 28.9%. Bottle feeding recorded the highest incident of oral habit with 23.7% followed by nail biting and object biting. A significant association between increase overjet and bottle feeding (p<0.05) as well as relationship between pacifier and anterior open bite (p<0.01) were established. Conclusion: The prevalence of malocclusion in primary dentition was high and significant association between oral habits and the development of malocclusion in deciduous dentition was demonstrated.