An Assessment of the Occlusal Characteristics of Individuals With Growth Deficiencies

Purpose: To assess the occlusal characteristics of individuals with conditions associated with growth deficiencies. Methods: Data about the stage of dentition, diastemas, maxillary transverse deficiency, overjet (OJ), overbite (OB), molar classification, and maxillary and mandibular crowding were obtained from orthodontic screening notes and standardized clinical exams of subejcts with growth hormone deficiency (GHD), idiopathic short stature (ISS), small for gestational age (SGA), Russell-Silver syndrome (RSS), panhypopituitarism (PHPT), optic nerve hypoplasia/septo-optic dysplasia (SOH/OHD),congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH) and autoimmune polyglandular syndrome type 1 (APST1). The prevalence of these occlusal characteristics was determined. For the RSS cohort, the severity of OJ, OB, maxillary and mandibular crowding was determined and compared to the pooled mean of a normal population as determined by the NHANES studies. Results: Due to the limited number of subjects, only descriptive statistics were performed for the GHD (N=15), ISS (N=1), SGA (N=8), PHPT (N=6), ONH/SOD (N=6), CAH (N=1)and APST1 (N=1) cohorts. The RSS cohort was composed of 20 subjects,14 of which participated in the standarized clinical exam. RSS subjects presented statistically significant greater mean OB, as well as mandibular and maxillary crowding compared to a normal population. Conclusion: Orthodontic evaluation should be included in the multidisciplinary needs of RSS individuals.