[Photoocclusion as a complementary method in orthodontic diagnosis]

The sample consisted of 102 individuals, of which 30 were with normal occlusion, and the rest was classified in 6 groups of orthodontic anomalies. They were of both sexes, mean age was 16.8. The purpose of this study was to analyse the number, intensity and location of occlusal contacts within a group and between the groups, also in relation to the type of the tooth and the examined segment of dental arch. Photoocclusion was used as the main method of analysis, and registration with articulating paper was the control method. The results gave no significant difference in relation to age and sex within the same types of anomaly. The greatest number of occlusal contacts, after that in the group with normal occlusion, was in the group with crowding (16.41), and the lowest number of contacts was in the patients with mandibular prognathism (8.13). Between the groups with different anomalies significant difference has been found in relation to the segment of dental arch, intensity and type of tooth: in molars it was 64-65 kg/mm2 decreasing gradually towards the incisors.