CORRELATIONS BETWEEN DENTAL MALOCCLUSIONS, OCULAR MOTILITY, AND CONVERGENCE DISORDERS: A CROSS-SECTIONAL STUDY IN GROWING SUBJECTS

The purpose of the study was to analyze the association between dento-skeletal malocclusions, ocular motil- ity, and convergence disorders in growing subjects.Materials and methods. 84 subjects (49 males, 35 females) with a mean age of 7.3±1.7 years were enrolled in a screen- ing procedure for celiac disease at the Department of Gastroenterology of the University of Rome "Tor Vergata". Each child underwent an orthodontic, orthoptic, and ophtalmological examination. Pearson’s Chi-Square test with Yates’ cor- rection and Fisher’s exact test were conducted to assess the association between orthoptic defects and malocclusions (p<0.05).Results. Ocular motility disorders were present in 44.9% of males and in 57.1% of females, while convergence defects were present in 10.2% of males and in 2.9% of females. Ocular motility disorders were more frequent in subjects with An- gle Class III malocclusion (66.7%) than in subjects with Angle Class II (59.1%) and Class I (45.8%) malocclusion. Con- vergence defects were equally frequent in Angle Class I and Class II malocclusion (5.1%), while none subject present- ing with Angle Class III malocclusion exhibited convergence defects. A statistically significant correlations was found be- tween ocular motility disorders and unilateral cross-bite with midline deviation.Conclusion. Ocular motility defects had a significant greater prevalence in subjects presenting with unilateral cross-bite and midline deviation. The importance of role of orthodontic diagnosis among interdisciplinary treatment in growing chil- dren should be recognized.