:ETIOLOGY OF

MALOCCLUSION:
:GENERAL FACTORS:
GENERAL FACTORS:
 HEREDITY:

 CONGENITAL DEFECTS:

 ENVIRONMENT:

 PREDISPOSING METABOLIC CLIMATE AND DISEASE:

 DIETARY PROBLEMS:

 POSTURE:

 ACCIDENT AND TRAUMA:

HEREDITY:

 In everyday life, we come across quite a

number of families where the inmates have a
lot of resemblance.
 Thus it is quit logical to assume that

offsprings inherit quite a few attributes from

their parents.
 Heredity has for long been attributed as one

of the causes of malocclusion

 According to lundstrom there are number of
human traits that are influenced by the genes
that include:

 Tooth size
 Arch dimension
 Crowding/spacing
 Abnormalities of tooth number
 overjet
 Inter-arch variation
 Frenum

 As so many traits show a strong genetic

pattern a number of malocclusion can be
partly or solely attributed to genetic factors.
CONGENITAL DEFECTS

 The congenital abnormalities that cause

malocclusion can be broadly classified as
general and local congenital abnormalities:

 GENERAL CONGENITAL FACTORS:

 Abnormal state of mother during pregnancy
 Malnutrition
 Endocrinopathies
 Infectious diseases
 Metabolic and nutritional disturbances
 Accidents during pregnancy and child birth
 Intra uterine pressure
 Accidental traumatization of the fetus by

external forces

 LOCAL FACTORS:
 Abnormalities of jaw development due to

intra uterine position

 Clefts of the face and palate.
 Macro and microglossia
 Cleidocranial dysostosis
ENVIRONMENT
 Various pre and post natal environmental
factors can cause malocclusion:

 PRENATAL FACTORS :
 Abnormal fetal posture during gestation is
said to interfere with symmetric development
of the face.
 The other prenatal influences include
maternal fibroids, amnionic lesion, maternal
diet and metabolism
 Maternal infection such as german measles
and use of certain drugs like thalidomide can
cause gross congenital deformities including
clefts.

 POST NATAL FACTORS:

 Forceps delivery can result in injury to the
temperomandibular joint area which can
undergo ankylosis. Such patients show
retarted mandibular growth.
 Cerebral palsy is a condition characterized by
muscle inco-ordination. This may occure due
to birth injuries. And the patient may exhibit
malocclusion due to loss of muscle balance.

 Traumatic injuries that causes condylar

fracture can cause growth retardation
resulting in marked facial asymetry.
 Presence of scar tissue such as those caused
by burns or as a result of cleft lip surgery
may produce malocclusion due to their
restrictive influence on growth.
DIETARY PROBLEMS:

 Nutritional deficiencies during growth may result

in abnormal development, causing malocclusion.

 These diseases are more common in developing

contries.

 Nutritional related disturbances such as ricketts,

scurvy and beriberi can produce severe
malocclusion and may upset the dental
development time table.
POSTURE:
 Poor posture habits are said to be a cause for
malocclusion.

 Children who support their head by resting

the chin on their hand and those who hang
their head so that the chin rest against the
chest are observed to have mandibular
deficiency.
Accidents and trauma:
 Children are highly prone to injuries of the
dentofacial region during the early years of
life when they learn to crawl, walk, or during
play.

 Most of these injuries go unnoticed and may

be responsible for non-vital teeth that do not
resorb and deflection of erupting permanent
teeth into abnormal positions.
PREDISPOSING METABOLIC CLIMATE
AND DISEASE
 ENDOCRINE IMBALANCE :

 Following are some of the endocrinal

disturbances that can causes malocclusion.
 Hypothyroidism
 Hyperthyroidism
 Hypoparathyroidism
 hyperparathyroidism
 METABOLIC DISTURBANCES:

 Acute febrile diseases are believed to slow down

the pace of growth and development.

 These conditions may cause a disturbance in

tooth eruption and shedding thereby increasing
the risk of malocclusion

 Diseases affecting the oro-facial muscles can

have a profound effect on the dento-alveolar
complex predisposing to malocclusion.