EPIDEMIOLOGICAL ANALYSIS OF ORTHODONTIC TREATMENT NEEDS IN ITALY: A COMPARISON BETWEEN TWO STUDIES

P. Caccianiga and G. Caccianiga^*

School of Medicine and Surgery, University of Milano-Bicocca, 20900 Monza, Italy

*Correspondence to:
Gianluigi Caccianiga DDS,
School of Medicine and Surgery,
University of Milano-Bicocca,
20900 Monza, Italy
e-mail: gianluigi.caccianiga@unimib.it

Received: 15 March, 2017 Accepted: 20 April, 2017

2038-4106 (2017) Copyright © by BIOLIFE This publication and/or article is for individual use only and may not be further reproduced without written permission from the copyright holder. Unauthorized reproduction may result in financial and other penalties Disclosure: all authors report no conflicts of interest relevant to this article.

ABSTRACT

This study aims to verify the prevalence and distribution of various types of malocclusion in a cross-section of patients in the province of Bergamo. A comparison is also presented with one study conducted 16 years earlier in the same location. The patient evaluation was made utilising cephalometric analysis. The study was conducted on a sample of 441 patients in Italy and area treated in the Alzano Lombardo Hospital. Gender, age, SNA, SNB, ANB, intermaxillary angle, SNP-A, Go-Me, Wits index, OVJ, OVB and gonial angles (total, upper and lower) are investigated. There are 49.21% skeletal class I, 44.9% class II and 5.9% class III. More than 50% of children are normodivergence, 8.54% hypodivergent and 39.76% hyper-divergent. Only 39.23% of subjects have a correctly positioned maxilla. Only 30.61% of patients presented correct mandibular positioning. A normomandible is present in about one-third of children. The presence of maxillary deficit is found in 48% of patients. An analysis of skeletal bite data demonstrates that only 17% of subjects have a normo bite. 40.82% of patients present a negative Wits appraisal. 71% of children have a normo-overbite, whereas 12% have a diminished overbite and 16% present an increased overbite. A previously performed study showed a higher prevalence of class II and hyperdivergence. In this study, it was possible to present an overview of the different malocclusion indices in a sample of children in the province of Bergamo. Most of them have malocclusion and require orthodontic treatment.

KEYWORDS: epidemiological analysis, orthodontic treatment, malocclusion