Disparity in orthodontic utilization and treatment need among high school students.
OBJECTIVE
The aim of this cross-sectional study was to assess the disparity in utilization of orthodontic services among high school students and to measure and characterize the extent of unmet treatment needs among untreated students at the time of examination.


METHODS
The sample consisted of 2,808 tenth grade students enrolled in different public and private high schools. All subjects completed a dental survey that included questions on demographic, dental health, and orthodontic services, and assessment of smile using the visual analog scale. A subsample of dental study casts that were available for 561 untreated subjects were scored using the Dental Aesthetic Index (DAI) to estimate unmet treatment need.


RESULTS
The orthodontic utilization rate was 37 percent. The odds of being orthodontically treated were 8.7 times greater among those with dental visits within the past year than among those without, and three times greater among Caucasians than among other ethnic groups. The DAI indicated that the unmet treatment need was 29 percent, with ethnic minority groups having 2.6 greater odds of needing treatment than Caucasians.


CONCLUSIONS
Minority groups and infrequent dental attenders may experience disparities in unmet orthodontic treatment need.
Nelson
Suchitra
S
School of Dentistry, Case Western Reserve University, 10900 Euclid Avenue, Cleveland, OH 44106-4905, USA. ssn2@po.cwru.edu
Armogan
Vidya
V
Abel
Yumi
Y
Broadbent
B Holly
BH
Hans
Mark
M
D000293:Adolescent; D001294:Attitude to Health; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003710:Demography; D004955:Esthetics, Dental; D005006:Ethnicity / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005260:Female; D006297:Health Services Accessibility / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D008310:Malocclusion / Q000453:epidemiology*; D008913:Minority Groups / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D020380:Needs Assessment / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D009820:Ohio / Q000453:epidemiology; D009909:Oral Health; D009971:Orthodontics, Corrective / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D012737:Sex Factors; D012904:Smiling; D012923:Social Class; D013334:Students / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*