DENTAL MALOCCLUSION IN NATIVE CHILDREN OF BRITISH-COLUMBIA, CANADA

Since 1972, the Medical Services Branch (MSB), Pacific Region of Healt h Canada, has conducted quadrennial surveys of the dental health statu s of Native children in British Columbia (B.C.), Canada. This paper wi ll analyze the findings related to dental malocclusion. Data from the most recent survey in 1988 are compared to data from 1980, and also to similar data from the most recent B.C. Children's Dental Health Surve y. Prevalences of abnormal and severe malocclusion are also compared t o the original 1972 data. Methods used in the surveys were detailed in a previous paper (1). Significant decreases in the percentage of chil dren with drifting due to premature space loss (P<0.05), as well as a slight decrease in the percentage of children with crowding were obser ved. A trend towards an increase in Class 11 molar relationship was de monstrated, but was not consistent for all age groups. In contrast, th ere was a slight, but consistent, trend towards a decrease in the perc entage of children with an anterior openbite. Comparisons between the age groups demonstrated an increased prevalence of abnormal molar rela tionship, drifting due to space loss, crowding, crossbite, and overjet greater than 4 mm in children older than 7 years. Native children had a significantly greater prevalence of Class III molar relationship, c rossbite, crowding, negative overjet, and anterior openbite than other schoolchildren in B.C. (P<0.05). However, percentage of Native childr en with a severe malocclusion decreased significantly from 1972 to 198 8 for 7, 9, and 11 year old children (P<0.05), but not for 13 and 15-y r-olds. Improvement has occurred over time in some aspects of dental m alocclusion in these Native Canadian children, but malocclusion contin ues to be a frequent problem, especially amongst adolescents.