Association between occlusal anomalies and dental caries in 3- to 5 year-old Brazilian children.

Objective: To investigate the association between certain occlusal anomalies and the occurrence and severity of dental caries in Brazilian preschool children.

Design: Cross-sectional study.

Setting: Twenty-eight public nursery schools in Canoas, southern Brazil.

Subjects And Methods: The study population comprised 890 three- to five-year-old children. Five trained and calibrated observers examined children for determination of decayed, missing and filled tooth (dmft) index (World Health Organization criteria including white spots) and orthodontic variables.

Outcome Measures: Caries severity (dmft) and caries occurrence (dmft ≥ 1).

Statistical Analysis: Multivariable analysis was performed using Poisson regression with robust variance in order to determine the occlusal anomalies which represent risk factors for the occurrence of the binary outcome.

Results: Caries severity was significantly higher among children without spacing in the maxillary anterior teeth (P = 0·001) and mandibular anterior teeth (P = 0·003) and among children without accentuated overjet (P = 0·023). The multivariable analysis demonstrated that children without spacing in maxillary anterior teeth had an increased risk of dental caries (prevalence ratio = 1·43; 95% CI, 1·05-1·93). Open bite, accentuated overjet and posterior cross-bite were not associated with this outcome in the final model.

Conclusions: Absence of spacing in the maxillary labial segment represents a risk factor for dental caries in preschool children.