Characteristics Of Occlusion In Primary Dentition And Its Relationship With Caries In Preschool Children In Aydın

Abstract

Objective: The purpose of this study was to determine the clinical characteristics of occlusion in primary dentition and examine its relationship to caries experience in preschoolers in Aydın, TÜRKİYE. Materials and methods: The study was conducted among 962 children aged 3–5 years from preschoolers in a cross-sectional design. The clinical features were evaluated according to Björk et al and the caries examination was carried out with dft index. Results: The most common type of terminal plane relationship was flush type (46.7%) and primary canine relationship was Class I (69.6%). The most common type of irregularity was the prevalence of deep overbite (55.7%) followed by midline deviation (15.8%). Approximately half of the children (51.2%) had at least one carious tooth but caries experience was not related with any of the occlusal irregularities. Conclusion: Occlusal characteristics of the preschool children were defined and no relationship was found between these features and gender or caries experience.