Occlusal patterns in patients with idiopathic scoliosis.

INTRODUCTION

Idiopathic scoliosis is an orthopedic condition characterized by faulty posture. It might also be associated with some mild forms of facial asymmetry or dental deviations. The aim of the study was to clinically examine the occlusions of patients with idiopathic scoliosis.

METHODS

Ninety-six consecutive orthopedic patients with idiopathic scoliosis were examined. The orthopedic data of this group were recorded from their hospital files. The occlusal features of a random group of 705 Ashkenazi children served as the control. Frequency distributions were compared with the chi-square test.

RESULTS

The distribution of the Angle classes of malocclusion was significantly different in the 2 groups (P = .0001) because of many Class II subdivision patients in the orthopedic group. Other evidence of asymmetrical malocclusion was found in upper (P =.002) and lower midline deviations (P =.0001), and a higher frequency of anterior (P = .024) and posterior (P =.020) crossbites. In the experimental group, no association was found between site, side, or severity of scoliosis and the appearance or site of the malocclusion features examined.

CONCLUSIONS

Patients with idiopathic scoliosis have asymmetric features of malocclusion compared with a random population.