Prevalence of Malocclusion and Occlusal Traits in Young Eastern Indian Population: A Multicentric Cross-sectional Study

Introduction: Malocclusion is emerging as a common oral health problem with an increasing demand for treatment. Studying the prevalence of malocclusion will help generate public awareness of its deleterious effects while bringing attention to the benefits of orthodontic treatment. Compiling such data will provide an understanding of the national scenario of the condition. Aim: To determine the prevalence of malocclusion and occlusal traits with gender variation among adolescents and young adults in an Eastern Indian population. Materials and Methods: This descriptive multicentric cross-sectional study was conducted in the Department of Orthodontics and Dentofacial Orthopaedics, Dr. R. Ahmed Dental College and Hospital, Kolkata, West Bengal, India, from February to May 2024. A total of 1062 samples, comprising 453 males and 609 females in the age group of 14-22 years, reporting to the Outpatient Department (OPD) of Government Dental Colleges of West Bengal, were randomly selected. The samples were clinically examined and classified according to Angle’s classification into Class I, Class II (Div 1 and Div 2) and Class III cases. The Class I cases were further subdivided into normal occlusion, crowding, proclination, spacing, deep bite, open bite and crossbite. To obtain gender-wise distribution of malocclusion, the subjects were categorised into male and female subjects. Data were tabulated and statistically analysed using the Chi-square (χ2 ) test. Results: The mean age of participants was 18.37±2.19 years. Normal occlusion comprised 109 (10.26%) cases, while malocclusion was found in 953 (89.74%) of the total subjects. In the malocclusion group, Class I was found in 724 (68.17%) cases, Class II Div 1 in 162 (15.25%), Class II Div 2 in 33 (3.11%) and Class III in (3.2%) of the total sample. Crowding was significantly higher at 287 (39.64%) (p<0.001) than other variants of Class I malocclusion. Gender dimorphism was evaluated using the Chi-square test. Significant gender differences were observed for Class I (p<0.001), Class II Div 1 and Div 2 (p<0.001). Conclusion: Class I malocclusion showed the highest prevalence, with crowding being the most common variant. Females showed a higher prevalence of developing Class I malocclusion, whereas males presented with a higher prevalence of Class II Div 1 and Div 2 malocclusion.