Self-perceived need for dental treatment and related factors. A cross-sectional population-based study

Abstract

Self-perceived need for dental treatment and related factors. A cross-sectional population-based study Abstract: This study compared adolescents' self-perceived need for orthodontic treatment with the normative need for such treatment and investigated associations between socioeconomic and demographic variables and self-perceptions of dental malocclusion. This cross-sectional study involved 1015 schoolchildren aged 12-15 years in São Luís, Maranhão, Brazil. The following data were collected using a questionnaire and an orthodontic examination card: demographic and identifying data, socioeconomic data, educational levels of family, household income, economic classification criteria, and self-reported skin color behavioral data, and oral health data. Normative occlusal condition was examined using the Angle classification and Dental Aesthetic Index (DAI). Data were analyzed using the chi-squared test (to analyze differences in the frequency distribuition of qualitative variables) and Poisson regression (to stimate associations between the perceived need of orthodontic treatment and study covariates), with a 5% significance level. Schoolchildren's self-perceived need for orthodontic treatment was associated with sex (p = 0.022) and the normative need for treatment (p = 0.004). Among socioeconomic, demographic, and oral health variables, only sex [prevalence ratio (PR) = 1.15; 95% confidence interval (95%CI) = 1.04-1.28; p = 0.009] and the normative need for orthodontic treatment (PR = 1.19; 95%CI = 1.08-1.32; p < 0.001) were associated with the perception of malocclusion, with female adolescents reporting a greater need for orthodontic treatment. Female adolescents seems to be more sensitive to oral health problems. The results suggest that the DAI score might reflect a self-perceived need for orthodontic treatment and the Angle classification might overestimate the orthodontic treatment need.

Malocclusion and dental appearance in underprivileged Brazilian adolescents

“…14 However, it is important to understand other factors that may be involved in self-perception of dental appearance, especially with regards to the expectation of orthodontic treatment. Studies have shown that there were differences between the perceived need of adolescents and the treatment need indicated by professionals, 2,3,4 which could compromise the orthodontic planning and treatment satisfaction.…”

“…1 However, there are still differences between the individual perception of aesthetics and the need for treatment assessed by a professional. 2,3,4 Perception is a subjective dimension that individuals have of themselves and different aspects of life 5 and may be influenced by individual factors such as the presence of changes in occlusion, sex and age, and / or social factors. 6 From this aspect, malocclusion has been considered a cause of various functional problems and aesthetic and social relations, 7 causing a negative impact on the quality of life of adolescents.…”

Oclusopatias e necessidade de tratamento ortodôntico em adolescentes de 12 anos de idade

“…Nunes Neto et al 2014e Ting et al (2011) investigaram fatores associados aos problemas de espaço e ambos sugeriram que a genética poderia contribuir para a etiologia. Acredita-se que o padrão de crescimento facial seja um importante fator hereditário que favorece o desenvolvimento de oclusopatias (Moyers, 1988 Dessa forma, apesar dos métodos de registro neste estudo terem expressado dados importantes sobre a associação entre a condição das oclusopatias e a necessidade de tratamento ortodôntico, os resultados devem ser comparados a outros estudos com cautela, devido às diferenças relacionadas à seleção dos participantes, estratégias diagnósticas, limitações dos instrumentos de avaliação, etnias e idade entre as amostras (Borzabadi-Farahani et al, 2011;Silva et al, 2016).…”

“…Sugere-se oclusopatia leve nas Classes I, II e III, uma vez que, ao observar a relação molar antero-posterior no DAI, a maioria apresentava posição molar normal (65,73%) e o primeiro molar inferior deslocado meia cúspide para a mesial ou distal da relação de oclusão normal (21,91%). Em um estudo deSilva et al (2016) não houve associação entre os métodos e foi observado que a Classificação de Angle pode superestimar a necessidade de tratamento ortodôntico.…”

Does Malocclusion Affect Adolescents' Social Acceptance?

“…[5,22,[24][25][26] However, other studies disagree. [1,7,27] The explanation of this finding is related to the wide variety of beauty perception among cultures; [28] attractive smile could be associated with high-class, intelligent people. This explains why the new generation of adolescent females in Saudi Arabia pays more attention to their esthetic appearance and has more desire for orthodontic treatment.…”