The prevalence of malocclusion was studied on the Hvar island, Croatia. This island is characterized by high rates of endogamy, inbreeding and reproductive isolation. The sample for this study comprised 224 children, 126 males and 98 females from all schools on the island of Hvar (20.2 per cent of the total public school population). The sample was selected according to age, sex distribution, and demographic characteristics. The Angle Classes, overjet, overbite, crowding, spacing, and the type of anterior bite were examined. Class I buccal relationship was found in 47.3 per cent of the subjects, Class II in 45.1 per cent, and Class III in 5.4 per cent. Normal overjet was the most frequent finding (69.9 per cent). Normal overbite was seen in 42.5 per cent, deep in 49.1 per cent, and very deep in 2.7 per cent of the cases. Open bite was diagnosed in seven subjects (3.1 per cent) and edge‐to‐edge bite in six (2.7 per cent). The frequency of crowding was 57.1 per cent, normal relationships were observed in 34.9 per cent, and spacing in 8 per cent. The results of this investigation showed that the inhabitants of Hvar, who are characterized by a high rate of inbreeding and traditional diet, have more Class II malocclusions, deep bites, and midline shifts than the general Croatian population but not higher than other modern urbanized groups. Since the lack of chewing stress in this population cannot be considered as the main explanation for the above phenomenon, the genetic influence on the development of these occlusal traits in the inbred population of Hvar requires further investigation.

Objective. To compare the development of permanent teeth in a group of children with the congenitally missing permanent teeth (CMPT) and corresponding nonaffected group.Methods. The formation stages of all developing permanent teeth were determined on 345 panoramic radiographs (OPTs) by the method of Haavikko (1970), and dental age was calculated. The paired samplest-test was used to compare the differences between dental age (DA) and chronological age (CA) in those with CMPT and those not affected. Spearman test was used to evaluate the correlation between DA-CA and the number of missing teeth. The Wilcoxon signed rank test was used to compare the development of the teeth adjacent to the place of the agenesis with matched pair in corresponding nonaffected group.Results. Dental age was significantly delayed in CMPT children compared to the nonaffected group (p<0.001). The mean differences were −0.57 ± 1.20 years and −0.61 ± 1.23 years in males and females, without difference between sexes (p=0.763). The number of missing teeth affected the delay only in females (p=0.024). Only mesial teeth in females were significantly delayed in development when compared to the nonaffected group (p=0.007).Conclusion. Our findings show that the development of the permanent teeth is delayed when compared to the nonaffected group of the same sex and age.