Specific features of location of the anterior teeth in patients with class III malocclusion

Tea Zerekidze, Zurab Vadachkoria

Department of Pediatric and Prevention of Dental Diseases, Tbilisi State Medical University, Georgia

Medial occlusion - it is an anomaly of occlusion, when lateral group of teeth close up in class III malocclusion and it may be also accompanied with back coverage of incisors or direct closing of cutting surfaces of the incisors. Location of the incisors of upper and lower jaws is widely variable. It would be just to regard that the angle between the incisors and jaw basis is one of differential diagnostic criteria. Anterior teeth are of great esthetic, physiologic and functional significance. We have studied locations and positions of incisors of upper and lower jaws in patients with medial occlusion against generally accepted anatomic indicators (reference lines); there is conducted comparative analysis of obtained results, with average normal figures. There were studied 60 patients with medial occlusion of the dentition, aged from 7 to 25. The patients were divided into two age groups. 25 patients were observed in the period of replacement of milk-teeth with permanent ones; in 35 patients the process of replacement was already completed. There were studied 60 head cephalograms of the patients with medial occlusion of dentition, 30 side cephalograms of the head of individuals with physiological occlusion of dentition. Analyzing the upper and lower incisors in the patients with medial occlusion of dentition in the period of teeth replacement and period of permanent bite, we concluded that in the patients with medial occlusion of dentition, protrusion of upper incisors and retrusion of lower ones increase with the age. Consequently, in the process of orthodontic treatment of medial occlusion of dentition it is possible to eliminate back sagittal fissures (or minimize them) through change of the angulation of the incisors and canines within the limits of permissible deviation (5º).

Keywords:  medial occlusion, cephalometrics