Individual changes in malocclusion from adolescence to 35 years of age

Abstract

It was the aim of this follow-up study to assess the extent of individual changes in the occurrence of specific pronounced traits of malocclusion in a sample of 176 subjects who were selected from a catchment population examined in adolescence in 1965-66 and who were re-examined in 1986-87 (mean age, 35.5 years). Orthodontic treatment had been received by 10% of the subjects, and extraction rates were low. Deep overbite and mandibular crowding, especially in the incisor segment, tended to increase in frequency. However, on the whole, the various malocclusion traits remained remarkably stable in the orthodontically untreated individuals.

Key Words:

• Clinical follow-up
• epidemiology
• orthodontics