THE STRUCTURE OF DENTOMAXILLARY ANOMALIES IN CHILDREN OF LVIV REGION

Aim. One of the main tasks of modern dentistry is organization of providing of orthodontic treatment to children. The numerous studies in the recent years demonstrate that, due to the unfavorable environmental conditions and socio-economic situation, the number of dental abnormalities tends to increase. The reported prevalence of dentomaxillary anomalies equals 40 to 81 percent. The authors believe a significant prevalence of dentomaxillary anomalies in a certain degree depends on the preventive and curative activities among the children. Taken into account that the prevalence of DMA has a regional character, it is reasonable to study the structure of anomalies, the character of their manifestations at different age periods, etc. This will allow creating a regional data bank of diseaseand reasonably improving orthodontic care of children. Material and Methods. To estimate the prevalence and structure of dentomaxillary anomalies, the epidemiological examination of 891 children - secondary school students of Lviv region was carried out. The examination was conducted in the key age groups of 7, 12 and 15 years. Results and Discussion. The analysis of results of the examination of children showed that the prevalence of dentomaxillary anomalies presents 74,2±1,46% in the mean. With age, the prevalence of DMA increases from 44,68±2,72% in the 7 year-old children to 63,17±2,99% in the 15 yearold children. It is established that the most frequent are the anomalies of individual teeth - 31,41±1,55% in the structure of dentomaxillary anomalies. The anomalies of dentitions are diagnosed in 29,51±1,52%, and in 14,93±1,19% there are anomalies of occlusion. We also analyzed the structure of anomalies of occlusion in the examined children. It is found that among the anomalies of occlusion in the different age groups the distal and deep occlusion were the most frequent, which in the mean, presents 30,58±1,54% and 28,23±1,50%, respectively. The cross and primacy occlusion were diagnosed considerably less frequently (11,76±1,07% and 10,58±1,03%, respectively), and the open occlusion had the lowest index (9,41±0,97%). The analysis of the structure of the anomalies of occlusion regarding age has shown that in both 7-year- old girls and boys the distal and deep occlusion were noted with the same frequency, and the most common anomaly was a cross occlusion, especially in the boys (23,07±3,47%) compared to the girls (6,66±2,00%). A special attention is paid to the significant increase of distal and deep occlusion in the 12 year-old girls, that is, in the mean, 47,05±3,83% and 41,17±3,78%, respectively. Among the structure of anomalies of occlusion in the 15 year-old children the significant decrease of the amount of deep occlusion is noted in the girls (21,42±3,37%), and an increase of the prevalence of distal occlusion in the boys (41,66±4,34%). The analysis of anomalies of occlusion has shown that the index of prevalence in all three age groups significantly increases with age. Conclusions. According to the results of the conducted study, the database of the prevalence of dentomaxillary anomalies, was created, and it will promote organizational activity for the provision of orthodontic assistance to children. The obtained data testify about the necessity of the providence of orthodontic care of children. Keywords: anomalies of occlusion, anomalies of individual teeth, anomalies of dentitions, children