O-41 The prevalence of Class I, II and III malocclusions in children ages 6-12 in Georgetown, Guyana

Methods: A cross-sectional study on the prevalence of malocclusion was conducted among primary school children aged 6-12 years in Georgetown, Guyana. The study area was divided into 4 geographic locations (Northeast, Northwest, Southeast, and Southwest) and 11 schools were randomly selected. A clinical examination was performed on a total of 368 children. The class of malocclusion present was determined using Angle’s classification system. The data were recorded and the distribution of malocclusion according to class, age, sex and associated oral habits was analyzed using descriptive statistics in SPSS.

Results: The overall prevalence of malocclusion was 72.6%. Class I malocclusion was the most common type, affecting 51.4% of children, followed by Class II at 13.8% and Class III at 7.3%. Children aged 9 showed the highest frequency of malocclusion (79.4%), followed by children aged 11 (75.9%). There was a higher frequency of malocclusions in males (75.4%) compared to females (69.9%). Among Class I malocclusions, there were 20.6% open bites, 21.2% crowding, 15.3% deep bites, 11.6% edge-toedge bites, 6.9% spacing, 10.6% rotation, 4.8% crossbite, and 2.1% scissors bite. The most common oral habits in the studied population were nail biting (29.1%) and thumb sucking (14.9%).

Conclusion: Malocclusion is highly prevalent in children aged 6-12 attending primary schools in Georgetown, Guyana, affecting 72.6% of children. Class I Malocclusion was the most common, with Class III being the least prevalent. Despite a higher frequency of malocclusion among males compared to females and between children ages 7, 9, and 11 years, the differences were not statistically significant.