The nature of malocclusions of patients attending orthodontic department of the University of Nairobi: a retrospective study

Abstract

The objectives of this study were to determine the distribution and proportion of malocclusions among patients aged 6-18 years who attended the orthodontics department of the University of Nairobi between 1984 and 1987 and to find out whether the distribution of various types of malocclusions was related to age and sex of the patients. Results showed that there were more males (52.4 per cent) who attended the orthodontics clinic than females (47.6 per cent). Angle's class 1 malacclusion was more common than other types of malocclusions. Angle's 2 division 2 was the least encountered malocclusion. 13-18 years old tended to have a slightly higher prevalence of class 2 division 2 malocclusion than the 6-12 years old. There were no significant sex differences in the distribution of different types of malocclusions. Anterior crowding was the highest (88.9 per cent) in both sexes while crowding in the posterior segment was least encountered. There were no significant sex differences in the prevalence of overbite and overjet. It was concluded that the distribution and types of malocclusions among the 6-18 years old kenyans reflected the general pattern of malocclusion in many parts of Africa