Relationship between mandibular deviation and ocular convergence

Abstract

Recent studies have confirmed the relationship between head posture, mandibular position and visual focusing. A case-controlled study was conducted to assess the occurrence of ocular convergence defects between subjects with functional mandibular latero-deviation and healthy subjects in pediatric age. Sixty subjects (the study group) presented mandibular latero-deviation classified as functional according to the use of a clinical examination and frontal and basal tele-radiography. Sixty subjects without functional mandibular laterodeviation (control group) were selected randomly from all subjects seeking pediatric dental care and matched by gender and age to study group. All one hundred and twenty subjects were submitted to orthoptic tests performed by the same operator. These results seemed to confirm that in mandibular latero-deviation subjects ocular convergence defects occurred in greater frequency than in controls underlining the importance of role of pediatric dentistry among interdisciplinary cooperation.