Acta Scientific Dental Sciences (ISSN: 2581-4893) Volume 7 Issue 3 March 2023 Is Incisor Irregularity Associated with the Frequency of Coronal Surface Caries? A Cross-Sectional study in Al-Madinah, Saudi Arabia Research Article Asim A Almarhoumi 1 *, Randah H Al Blowi 2 , Maryam A Alshaikh 2 , Abeer A Ghudaf 2 , Abdulaziz S Al Harbi 2 and Basel F Abualkhair 2 1 Assistant Professor and Consultant Orthodontist, College of Dentistry and Dental Hospi- tal, Taibah University, Saudi Arabia 2 Senior House Officer, University Dental Hospital, Taibah University, Saudi Arabia *Corresponding Author: Asim A Almarhoumi, Assistant Professor and Consultant Orthodontist, College of Dentistry and Dental Hospital, Taibah University, Saudi Arabia. Received: February 07, 2023 Published: February 21, 2023 © All rights are reserved by Asim A Almarhoumi., et al. Abstract Objectives: The primary aim of this study was to investigate the potential correlation between dental caries and incisor irregular- ity. The secondary aim is to explore for other risk factors that could be associated with dental caries. Methods: Participants were screened and recruited based on the study’s inclusion criteria from Taibah University Dental Hospital, Madinah, Saudi Arabia. Clini- cal Intra-oral examination for incisors irregularity using Little’s Irregularity Index for each arch separately. The frequency of surface caries was calculated by the sum of the decayed, filled lesions per tooth surface (DFS) scores per arch. Followed by a questionnaire to record the participant’s demographic data, oral hygiene and dietary habits to control for confounding variables. Results: 153 adult patients participated in the study with mean age of 29 years old (SD ± 10). The mean Little’s Irregularity Index for the upper and lower anterior teeth was 3.61 and 5.44 millimetres, respectively. While the mean DFS scores were 2.24 and 0.58 for the upper and lower anterior teeth, respectively. The mean frequency of daily sugar intake per person was 3.38 times. Multiple linear regression analysis reported that no significant correlation exists between incisor irregularity and DFS scores in either the maxillary or the mandibular arch. Conclusion: The increase in incisor irregularity was not associated with the increased frequency of carious surfaces in the study sample. However, other factors demonstrated significant positive correlation such as the increased frequency of daily sugar con- sumption and decreased frequency of tooth brushing. Oral health education and promotion of healthy habits are recommended to minimize the risk of caries development. Keywords: Caries Risk; Caries; Crowding; Irregularity; Orthodontics Introduction Dental caries is among worldwide-most prevalent disease. It affects all age groups of populations. It is a slowly progressing dis- ease that requires indigenous bacteria, local factors, such as diet and oral environment, and time for the disease to occur [1]. Car- iogenic diet is a sugary diet that is absorbed by the oral bacteria, then results in acid formation that dissolves the tooth tissue and tooth cavitation will happen subsequently [2]. Latest investiga- tions show that not only classical risk factors, such as plaque or diet, are correlated with individual’s caries risk, but other factors like social status and education appears to have a stronger corre- lation with caries [3]. One of the most common indices to mea- sure the severity dental caries is Decayed, Missing, Filled surface (DMFS) index, it is well-established as the key measure of caries experience in dental epidemiology [4]. Data from the Saudi popula- tion clearly shows caries continues to be a major problem. A study in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia demonstrated that caries prevalence rate is more than 95% [5]. Dental crowding, particularly anterior tooth crowding is the most common type of malocclusion. The aetiology of crowding is due to complex interaction of genetic and environmental factors [6]. Crowding takes place when the dental alveolar base length is relatively too small to accommodate all teeth harmoniously. Where- as dental irregularity denotes labio-lingual displacement of adja- cent teeth from its ideal contact point without consideration of the DOI: 10.31080/ASDS.2023.07.1587 Citation: Asim A Almarhoumi., et al. “Is Incisor Irregularity Associated with the Frequency of Coronal Surface Caries? A Cross-Sectional study in Al-Madinah, Saudi Arabia". Acta Scientific Dental Sciences 7.3 (2023): 54-60.