title: A treatment need index: a pilot study.
abstract: The traditional caries index, DMF, provides inadequate information to assess dental treatment needs of a community. Dental health planners are often called upon to estimate the treatment needs, costs, time and personnel required for a proposed programme. A treatment needs index (TNI) is presented which provides important data for dental health planning. The index defines seven basic levels of treatment: (0) no treatment needed; (1) preventive treatment; (2) fissure sealants; (3) initial conservative restorations; (4) moderate conservative restorations; (5) advanced conservative restorations; and (6) radical treatment, including pulp therapy, prosthetic restorations and extractions. A pilot study and an example comparing data of both DMF and TNI demonstrates the values of the latter index. The Treatment Needs Index provides a more accurate description of caries severity and extent than does the traditional DMF index, and can be used to estimate the time required to treat a community.
authors.affiliation: Department of Community Dentistry, Hebrew University Hadassah, Jerusalem, Israel.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Mann
authors.forename: H D
authors.initials: HD
authors.lastname: Sgan-Cohen
authors.forename: R S
authors.initials: RS
authors.lastname: Asher
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Amir
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Cohen
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Sarnat
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004245:DMF Index; D003731:Dental Caries / Q000175:diagnosis*; D003788:Dental Pulp Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis; D006301:Health Services Needs and Demand; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D010865:Pilot Projects; D012720:Severity of Illness Index