Prevalence of malocclusion and orthodontic treatment need among 12 to 13 year-old in Brazilian schoolchildren

• Autor(a) principal: Tessarolo, Fabio R.
• Data de Publicação: 2015
• Outros Autores: Feldens, Carlos A., Dias, Caroline, Closs, Luciane Q.
• Tipo de documento: Artigo
• Idioma: eng
• Título da fonte: Revista odonto ciência (Online)
• Texto Completo: https://revistaseletronicas.pucrs.br/ojs/index.php/fo/article/view/17736
• topic: Epidemiology; Malocclusion; Orthodontics.; Epidemiologia; Maloclusão; Ortodontia.

Objective: This study aimed to assess the prevalence of the orthodontic treatment need in Brazilian adolescents by using the Dental Aesthetic Index (DAI), investigate associations between DAI scores and demographic and socioeconomic variables, and identify the components of the DAI that primarily contribute to the severity of malocclusion.Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted in the public schools of Balneário Camboriú, Brazil; the study sample comprised 704 adolescents aged 12-13 years without history of orthodontic treatment. Malocclusion was assessed by a trained and calibrated orthodontist using the DAI.Results: Of the schoolchildren, 58.7% had no malocclusion, 24.0% had definite malocclusion, 10.9% had severe malocclusion, and 6.4% had handicapping malocclusion. Approximately 17% of the sample (95% confidence interval: 14.5-20.1) required orthodontic treatment. Anterior maxillary overjet (r=0.627), anteroposterior molar relationship (r=0.590), irregularity in the maxilla (r=0.345), irregularity in the mandible (r=0.332), and crowding in the incisal segments (r=0.305) were the DAI components that primarily contributed to the variations in DAI scores.Conclusion: Almost one-fifth of the sample required orthodontic treatment. Maxillary overjet and molar relationship represent the characteristics that primarily influenced the need for orthodontic treatment in the study population.