Prevalencia de maloclusión en la dentición primaria en el municipio de Cáceres, Brasil

objective: to evaluate the occlusal condition of children with 5 years of age examined by the brazil oral health 2003 project in cáceres city, brazil. material and methods: the sample consisted of 170 preschool children raffled from 20 schools participant of the project. for the analysis of the occlusal it was used the 1987' world health organization index, modified by the public health school of s？o paulo university, brazil, in 1996, which establish criteria according to severity of malocclusion. results: it was observed that 65.3 % of children presented normal occlusion, 31.18 % presented light occlusal problems and 2.35 % showed moderate/severe. conclusion: due to the large presence of malocclusion, it is necessary this kind of survey, so that the city can plan and perform preventive orthodontic treatments, besides other preventive proceeding, to obtain a proper oral environment for the normal evolution of occlusion.