Study of the Orthodontic Treatment Need and the Prevalence of Malocclusion Among Children in Ivano-Frankivsk Region

Due to anthropogenic pollution of environment from salts of heavy metal, the necessity to investigate the need for orthodontic treatment and prevalence of malocclusion among children living in the Carpathian region appeared. Thus, the study of the orthodontic treatment need and the prevalence of malocclusion was conducted. We have examined 350 children at the age of 6, 9, 12 years with deciduous, mixed and permanent dentition respectively. We have found that living in regions with increased level of heavy metals salts causes the development of such skeletal forms of anomalies as open bite, prognathiaor prognathism.A tendency to the increase in need for orthodontic treatment, especially in the foothill and mountainous areas, can also be traced. The prospects for further research involve the development of new methods of dentition anomalies treatment. ?