Epidemiology of malocclusion in children and adolescents: a critic review

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this literature review about malocclusion was to identify epidemiologic instruments which are being used in Public Health, as well as to bring information regarding the occlusal alterations more prevalent in children and adolescents. METHODS: Information presented in previous studies was reviewed, in articles published in period 1997-2007, considering the production registered in the following databases: Latin American and Caribbean Health Sciences, Scientific Electronic Library Online, International Database for Medical Literature and Brazilian Dentistry Bibliography. RESULTS: The total of 191 identified references, 170 had been eliminated after the implementation of the exclusion criteria and 21 articles met the proposed inclusion criteria and had served of base for this work. The use of different criteria made difficult the comparison of studies in literature and did not offer parameters that can guide the scientific evidences. CONCLUSION: The most used epidemiologic indices were Dental Aesthetic Index and Index of Orthodontic Treatment Need and it was observed predominance of open bite in the deciduous dentition and crowding in the mixed and permanent dentitions.

研究目的：本研究为一项针对错牙合畸形（malocclusion）的文献综述，旨在明确公共卫生领域所应用的流行病学研究工具，并梳理儿童与青少年中高发的咬合异常相关信息。
研究方法：本研究对1997年至2007年间发表的文献中的既往研究数据进行综述，检索范围涵盖以下数据库：拉丁美洲与加勒比卫生科学数据库（Latin American and Caribbean Health Sciences）、科学电子在线图书馆（Scientific Electronic Library Online）、国际医学文献数据库（International Database for Medical Literature）以及巴西牙科文献目录（Brazilian Dentistry Bibliography）。
研究结果：本次检索共识别出191篇相关文献，经排除标准筛选后剔除170篇，最终有21篇文献符合预设纳入标准，为本研究提供了核心数据支撑。由于各研究采用的评价标准不统一，不仅导致文献间的比较难以开展，也未能提供可指导科学证据应用的统一参考参数。
研究结论：本研究中最常使用的流行病学指数为牙齿美观指数（Dental Aesthetic Index）与正畸治疗需要指数（Index of Orthodontic Treatment Need）；同时观察到，乳牙列中以开（牙合）（open bite）的患病率最高，混合牙列与恒牙列则以牙列拥挤（crowding）更为多见。