Relationship between malocclusion and posture in school age

Abstract

From the 1960s, when children began to be said to be somewhat strange, to the present day, the “abnormality” of the body has been increasingly seen by more and more children. Above all, the problem of posture represented by the word “straight neck” is that the center of gravity of the head moves forward, so the head must be supported only by the neck muscles. As a result, the muscles become tense and symptoms such as chronic neck pain and stiff shoulders appear. Poor posture has been shown to affect not only the appearance but also the childʼs growth and malocclusion, poor respiratory function, and academic achievement. Recently in the field of orthodontics, there has been increased interest in the relationship between jaw and head position, sleep apnea, and equivocal symptoms occurring in head, neck and shoulder. Since the craniomaxillofacial is supported by the cervical, thoracic and lumbar vertebrae, the head position might have some biomechanical connection to total body posture. Therefore, it is important to check the jaw position, head position, and the body posture.