A Study on the Condition of the Dental Arch and Malocclusion in Chinese Children

Abstract

The purpose of the present study was to examine the condition of the dental arches and the pattern of occlusion for Han Chinese children in the People's Republic of China and Hong Kong based on the Joint Dental Survey (1990) between Japan and China concerning the dental diseases of Chinese children in Beijing, Leshan and Hong Kong. The following results were obtained.
1. Inter-dental space: The proportion of the crowding in Leshan was higher than that in other regions. The portion of the crowding decreased from the 3-yearold children up to the 6-year-old ones, and then increased up to the 12- and 53515-year-old ones.
2. Alignment of the teeth: The proportion of the dislocation increased with aging.
3. The pattern of the malocclusion: The proportion of deep overbite was the highest in the 3- and 6-year-old children and that of maxillary protrusion was the highest in the 12- and 15-year-old children.
4. Degree of the attrition: It was relatively high through all of the age groups.
5. The major malocclusions in Chinese children were deep overbite and maxillary protrusion, while those in Japanese ones were edge-to-edge occlusion and mandibular protrusion.