Prevalence of malocclusion among 14-17 years old adolescent population in Karaikal District

Introduction: Aesthetic appearance including dental appearance plays a vital role in a person's personality especially among Adolescents. Malocclusion is a Handicapping dentofacial anomaly, which can be prevented in the earlier stage. Aim and objectives: To find out the prevalence of Malocclusion and association between gender and malocclusion among 14- 17 years old adolescents in Karaikal population. Materials and methods: 425 participants between the age group of 14-17 years were examined for malocclusion over a period of 15 months and classified according to Angle's classification. Results: Prevalence of Malocclusion in this study was 32% (136). Around 20.2% had Class I, 9.7% had class II and 2.1% had class III malocclusion. No association was found between gender and malocclusion. Conclusion: In this study, class I malocclusion is more prevalent. Dental public health services should be trained to diagnose malocclusion at primary health care level to treat malocclusion in the earlier stage.