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Malocclusion in the modern Alaskan Eskimo

1971; Elsevier BV; Volume: 60; Issue: 4 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1016/0002-9416(71)90147-3

1557-8488

Barry F. Wood,

Dental Health and Care Utilization

A study was conducted on the dentitions of 100 Eskimo children from the Kotzebue, Alaska, area. In spite of periodic dental care provided by the United States Public Health Service, these children continue to lose teeth at an alarming rate as a result of the high incidence of caries. This condition has been shown to be caused by the change from a primitive diet of meat and fat to one which incorporates the starches and refined sugars introduced by the white man. Although the diet has changed, the lack of oral hygiene found in the primitive Eskimo is still lacking in his modern counterpart. The rampant decay and premature loss of teeth resulting from the change in diet have also caused the incidence of malocclusion to rise dramatically. Although previous studies of primitive Eskimos have reported practically no malocclusion, 82 per cent of the children in this study had malocclusions. The incidence of Class I malocclusions is quite high, indicating the hereditary nature of this jaw relationship in the Eskimo. A few Class II and Class III malocclusions were also noted. Crowding, especially of the anterior teeth, was a common finding with these malocclusions. Cross-bites and edge-to-edge bites of the anterior teeth were also commonly noted. Maxillary intercanine and intermolar width measurements were in the same range for those with normal occlusions and those with malocclusions. The predominance of the Class I jaw relationships and the constancy of the transverse palatal measurements contradict an earlier report6 that degeneration of the middle and lower face is a main contributor to malocclusion in the Eskimo. Apparently, the change in diet has had little effect upon the jaw relationships. Nearly half of the children in the sample indicated that they were bothered by either the appearance or the functioning of their teeth. This indicates at least some concern for their teeth on the part of these children. Better dental education and oral hygiene would greatly reduce the incidence of caries which, in turn, would reduce the incidence of malocclusion. To improve oral hygiene, a mandatory brushing program mediated by the native schools has been suggested.