Development of the Dental and Oral Conditions of Children under Long-Term Dental Care

Abstract

     Occlusion management, which incorporates coordination of occlusal development and oral function, is an important theme in long-term dental care of children. We investigated the various types of occlusion for various ages, changes in occlusion with age, and longitudinal charges in occlusion. We also measured the occlusal force of caries-resistant children with normal occlusion and bite volume.
      The results were as follows:
1.  At 5 years of age the prevalence of caries was 50.5% in boys and 48.4% in girls. The deft indices were 2.47 and 2.31, respectively.
2.  The prevalence of normal occlusion was 70% at 1 year of age and 50% at 2 years. However, there was little change between 3 and 5 years. At 1 year of age the prevalences of deep overbite and maxillary protrusion were very low, although both increased with age. At age 1 year normal occlusion was most prevalent, followed by mandibular prognathism, which had a prevalence of 20%. However, the prevalence of mandibular prognathism decreased with age. The prevalences of edge-to-edge occlusion, anterior crossbite and anterior openbite were low for all ages.
3.  At all ages there were children for whom the type of occlusion changed and those for whom it did not.
4.  The longer the length of time for which the type of occlusion at 1 year of age was maintained, the less was the change in that type of occlusion.
5.  Occlusal force increased with age although considerable variations were seen among children of the same age. At any particular age, the lowest occlusal force was about 1/3 that of the highest.
6.  The thicknesses remaining after occluding into bite wax of 1 and 3 mm thickness decreased significantly with age.
      It was found that there are significant changes in the deciduous dentition with age. Since occlusion in the deciduous dentition can be unstable, it is important to monitor changes, even in children with normal occlusion and no caries.