Assessment of the orthodontic knowledge demonstrated by dental school undergraduates: recognizing the key features of Angle Class II, Division 1 malocclusion

• Autor(a) principal: Canavarro,Cristiane
• Data de Publicação: 2012
• Outros Autores: Miguel,José Augusto Mendes, Quintão,Cátia Cardoso Abdo, Torres,Myrna de Faria Magalhães, Ferreira,Juliana de Paiva Moura, Brunharo,Ione Helena Vieira Portella
• Tipo de documento: Artigo
• Idioma: eng
• Título da fonte: Dental Press Journal of Orthodontics
• Texto Completo: http://old.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S2176-94512012000100008
• topic: Interceptive orthodontics; Angle Class II malocclusion; Diagnosis

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the ability of undergraduate students in diagnosing Angle Class II malocclusion and evaluate the clinical approach of these students toward a patient displaying this condition. METHODS: The sample consisted of 138 students attending the last semester of 10 dental schools in the State of Rio de Janeiro/Brazil assessed by questionnaires with closed questions. They were presented with photographs and dental casts of a patient in the mixed dentition, with Angle Class II malocclusion, increased overjet and overbite, deviated dental midlines and anterior diastemas in the upper arch. RESULTS: It was found that students easily identified increased overjet (92% of students), followed by the presence of diastemas (89%), midline deviation (84.7%) and increased overbite (77.3%). Conversely, approximately half the sample (n=70 or 51% of the students) were able to identify bilateral Angle Class II malocclusion. Nearly all agreed on the need for treatment and that it should be provided by a specialist (n=131 or 95%), but found it difficult to determine the ideal moment to start orthodontic treatment: 48.9% of the sample would begin treatment at the end of the mixed dentition, 41.7% would indicate treatment during deciduous dentition and 7.9% during permanent dentition. CONCLUSIONS: On completion of their undergraduate courses, students encounter difficulties in diagnosing Class II and even find it hard to articulate ideas about a basic treatment protocol to correct this malocclusion.