Prevalence of Malocclusion in University of Khartoum Students

The purposes of present study was to evaluate the prevalence of malocclusion in 18-22 -year-old university of Khartoum students, to determine the prevalence of malocclusion in sagittal, transversal and vertical directions, and to describe the interrelationship between some malocclusion traits, compare the prevalence of malocclusion in the present study with other ethnic groups and to provide information on genders distribution of occlusal variation and whether a significant difference exists. Design: A descriptive cross-sectional study, held in the Medical and Health Services Centre of the University of Khartoum (dental clinics) Methods: 2550 University students (1305females and 1245males), age 18-22-year-old, were selected. The prevalence of malocclusion, and the interrelationship between some malocclusion traits, was investigated. Results: Class I normal occlusion was found in (58%), Class I malocclusion in 30.2%, Class II in (7.5%), and only (4.3%) had Class III malocclusion. Conclusion: (58%) University students had Class I normal, (42%) had malocclusion, and anterior open bite seems to correlate with Class II in this sample. females had significantly more Class I Normal occlusion than the males, malocclusion among Sudanese adults was found to be much lower than that reported by a previous study in 12-year-old Sudanese children (91.7%).Recommendations: The study is expected to be of great value in orthodontic and maxillofacial treatment by assessing the most dominant classes of malocclusion in Sudan, especially if more numbers and tribes were surveyed