Association between hypodontia and Angles malocclusion.

This study was planned to determine the prevalence of hypodontia in permanent dentition and to test whether an association was present between hypodontia and Angle's malocclusion. The retrospective study was conducted at a tertiary care hospital, Karachi, and comprised record of all patients visiting the orthodontic clinics of the hospital from 2005 to 2015. Orthodontic records of 790(79%) subjects, including 189(23.9%) males and 601(76.1%) females, were reviewed. Their mean age was 17 ± 5.06 years. A tooth was considered missing if no evidence of tooth germ was observed on orthopantomograms and dental casts. The total sample was distributed into three groups on the basis of Angle's classification. Chi-square test was applied to determine an association between hypodontia and Angle's malocclusion. Tooth agenesis was observed in 34(4.3%) and a statistically significant difference was found between the genders (p=0.005). A positive association was found between hypodontia and malocclusion groups. Higher frequency of missing teeth was seen in Class III malocclusion which indicates a great need for orthodontic treatment as it has a psychosocial impact on the quality of life.