Occlusal abnormalities and face changes in major β-thalassemic patients

Background: Major β-thalassemia is the most common monogenic known disorder in Iran affecting about 25000 persons. Objective: This study was performed to evaluate occlusal abnormalities and face changes in major β-thalassemic patients. Methods: This was a cross-sectional study performed on 281(162 males, 119 females) patients attending to the thalassemia center of Zahedan over a time period between May to September, 2006. All patients were evaluated for occlusal abnormality and face changes. Data were collected through questionnaires (general, dental, medical) and clinical examinations and further analyzed by chi square test. Findings: Occlusal abnormalities included open bite (3.6%), deep bite (22.4%), cross bite (5.7%), crowding (29.5%), and spacing (15.7%). Face changes resulting from major β-thalassemia were: saddle nose (60.1%), bimaxillary protrusion (25.6%), and rodent face (34.8%). There was no significant difference between the prevalence of occlusal abnormalities and face changes in both genders. Most patients (85%) were in the first and second decade of life. The prevalence of occlusal abnormalities and face changes increased with age. The common type of occlusion in studied population was class I, II, III. Early diagnosis and blood transfusion caused a decrease in prevalence of complications. Conclusion: Based on the results of present study, early diagnosis and treatment leads to lower prevalence rate of complication, occlusal abnormalities, and face changes. Attempts should be made to increase the general knowledge of parents over the children’s oral health.