Pattern of skeletal and dental malocclusions in Saudi orthodontic patients.

OBJECTIVES: To determine the distribution of skeletal and dental malocclusions in a sample of Saudi orthodontic patients.

METHODS: Six hundred and two randomly selected pretreatment orthodontic records were evaluated in this descriptive, retrospective study conducted between June to September 2009 at the Orthodontic Clinic of the College of Dentistry, King Saud University, Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Cephalometric analysis using Dolphin software to measure the A point, Nasion, B point (ANB) angle and Wits appraisal was performed to determine the skeletal malocclusion. Angles classification was evaluated to determine the molar relationship using study models.

RESULTS: The most common dental malocclusion was Angle Class I followed by the asymmetric molar relationship. The most common skeletal malocclusion using ANB angle was Class I, while the most common skeletal malocclusion using Wits appraisal was Class II. No gender difference was seen in the distribution of the molar relationship and skeletal relationship using both ANB angle and Wits appraisal.

CONCLUSIONS: The pattern of skeletal and dental malocclusions in Saudi orthodontic patients differs, based on the variability of the methods used to assess the anteroposterior jaw-base relationship.