title: The relationship between dental aesthetic index (DAI) and perceptions of aesthetics, function and speech amongst secondary school children in Ibadan, Nigeria.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The purpose of the study was to investigate the relationship between a professionally derived index, the Dental Aesthetic Index, and some indications for orthodontic treatment as perceived by potential patients.
  
  
  METHODS
  An epidemiological survey of 614 secondary school students, 327 males (53.3%) and 287 females (46.7%) was carried out in Ibadan, Nigeria. Children aged 12-18 years (mean age, 14.9+/-2.9 SD) were randomly selected, none of them had received previous orthodontic treatment. One examiner assessed the students using the Dental Aesthetic Index (DAI). Subjects were also asked to complete a questionnaire consisting of three questions concerning appearance, function, and speech, using a 5-point Likert scale.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Weak but statistically significant correlations were found for subjective assessments of appearance of teeth and the DAI (r=0.174; P<0.01) and between biting/chewing and appearance of teeth (r=0.095; P<0.05). Statistically significant correlations were found between appearance of teeth and speech (r=0.148; P<0.01) and biting/chewing and speech. The last showed the strongest correlation (r=0.268; P<0.01).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The study has shown weak but significant correlation between DAI and children's perceptions of the appearance of their teeth. We recommend further study involving both DAI and Index of Orthodontic Treatment Need (IOTN) for comparison in the Nigerian population.
authors.affiliation: Department of Preventive Dentistry, College of Medicine/University College Hospital, University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Nigeria. coonyeaso@yahoo.com
authors.forename: C O
authors.initials: CO
authors.lastname: Onyeaso
authors.forename: G A
authors.initials: GA
authors.lastname: Aderinokun
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D001294:Attitude to Health; D002648:Child; D004955:Esthetics, Dental; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008310:Malocclusion / Q000145:classification / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000523:psychology*; D008409:Mastication / Q000502:physiology; D020380:Needs Assessment; D009549:Nigeria; D012649:Self Concept; D013060:Speech / Q000502:physiology*; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric