Correlation between Malocclusion, Oral Habits, and Socio-economic Level of Preschool Children

In May, 1958, 491 preschool children received a dental examination as part of a complete physical evaluation for entering school in September. They ranged in age from three years eleven months to five years four months; the mean age was 4.65 years. The dental examination had as its purpose (a) a dental educational experience for child and parent; (b) evaluation as to the needs of the child related to dental caries, periodontoclasia, and oral hygiene; and (c) an orthodontic appraisal of the dentition of the child. It is with the latter that this paper will be concerned.