Association between Facial, Occlusal and Cephalometric Characteristics of Individuals in Pre-Orthodontic Treatment Phase: A Retrospective Study

Introduction: The study of the prevalence of malocclusion is important for the knowledge of the common occlusal and facial characteristics of a given population, enabling the prevention, treatment and planning of cases with orthodontic needs.

Objective: The aim of the present study was to evaluate the association between facial, occlusal, and cephalometric findings of individuals in the pre-orthodontic treatment phase.

Materials and Methods: This retrospective cross-sectional study was conducted from a sample of 122 orthodontic medical records of patients in the initial phase of orthodontic treatment. Data related to clinical examination, facial analysis, model analysis, radiographic examinations and intra and extraoral photographs were analyzed. Data on facial type, smile classification and aesthetic pleasantness of the face and smile were collected from extraoral photographs. The occlusal findings were analyzed from plaster models. The cephalometric analysis was evaluated from lateral cephalogram of the face. The collected data were tabulated using the SPSS 17.0 for Windows software and the Chi-square, Kruskal, Wallis and Mann-Whitney tests were used to compare the data.

Results: The most prevalent Angle malocclusion was Class II division 1. Statistical association was observed between the variable Angle malocclusion and the following characteristics: facial type, posterior crossbite, anterior crossbite, anterior open bite, overjet, and overbite (p≤0.05). The Kruskal Wallis and Mann-Whitney tests showed that Class II malocclusion was associated with higher PgNB, NAP, ANB, 1-NB, IMPA, Line S-Ls and overjet values (p≤0.05).

Conclusion: It can be concluded that the population studied has a high prevalence of Class II division 1 malocclusions and this condition is associated with facial, occlusal, and cephalometric findings.