PURPOSE: to estimate the association between socioeconomic factors and occlusal changes like overbite and overjet in students aged 7 to 15 years. METHOD: this is a cross-sectional study in 251 students of both gender regularly enrolled in the school of public and private schools in São Luís, Maranhão, Brazil. All subjects carried out the sample photos extra-oral standardized face (front resting, smiling front and profile) and intraoral (front, right side and left side in occlusion, occlusal upper and lower occlusal) for the diagnosis of changes. The photographs were evaluated by three observers under blind and disagreements were discussed to achieve consensus. Overbite and overjet were diagnosed according to criteria of Angle. RESULTS: it was found that 35.4% of the children were 18.3% and overbite, overjet. There was a statistically significant association between family income and overbite (p = 0.003) and overjet (p = 0.029), noting that most children who had no overbite (69.4%) were low-income families (up to 2 minimum wage). Similarly, most people with overjet were families with higher incomes, while the majority of those without overjet had low family income. For other variables there was no statistically significant difference in frequency distribution of overjet and overbite. CONCLUSION: the prevalence of overbite and overjet among the studied population is high, especially among those with higher family income.
Malocclusion; Prevalence; Vertical Dimension; Dentition, Mixed
