Normal Iraqi values of overjet and overbite

الملخص EN

Background : Knowing the normal range of values helps us define the abnormal range.

Material and Method: This study involved six governorates (cities and environs) in Iraq selected to cover the whole country geographically (Baghdad the capital, Ninevah, Basrah, Diyala, Anbar and Najaf).

The 6957 intermediate school students aged 13 years with no previous history of orthodontic treatment.

An intra-oral clinical examination was used to assess their oversets and overbite.

Results : More than two thirds of the sample (67.8 %) had an overeat of 2mm to 4mm and three quarters of the sample (75.3 %) had an overbite of 1mm to 3mm and when overheat and overbite values were cross-tabulated, 54.7 % of the sample had an overheat of 2-4mm and an overbite of 1-3mm suggesting their normal values.

Conclusion : For Iraqi 13 early teen-agers the normal overeat is 2-4mm and overbite is 1-3mm.