Malocclusion and uptake of orthodontic treatment in Taranaki 12-13-year-olds.
OBJECTIVE
To describe the occurrence of malocclusion and the uptake of orthodontic treatment among 12-13-year-olds in the province of Taranaki, New Zealand.


METHODS
Cross-sectional descriptive study using a random sample of 12-13-year-olds attending Intermediate schools.


METHODS
Parents or caregivers completed a postal questionnaire. Children (N = 430; participation rate 74.1 percent) completed a questionnaire and were dentally examined.


METHODS
Malocclusion, using the Dental Aesthetic Index, or DAI (Cons et al, 1986), recorded by a single calibrated examiner, and the use of orthodontic services as reported by parents or caregivers.


RESULTS
The mean DAI score was 28.3 (sd = 7.8). Females and non-Maori had greater mean DAI scores than males and Maori, respectively. A high proportion of the children needed orthodontic treatment (60.5 percent in the "definite", "severe" or "handicapping" categories), and 17 percent had a "handicapping" malocclusion. While over one-third of the children had been advised to seek an orthodontic consultation, a proportion (23.4 percent) did not. Of those who did, a similar proportion did not proceed with care because of financial considerations. Children of low socio-economic status (SES) were disproportionately represented in these groups. Children with "severe" or "handicapping" malocclusions who did not proceed with treatment came predominantly from low-SES households and high-deprivation areas.


CONCLUSIONS
Cost was a barrier to orthodontic treatment for low-SES, high-deprivation children and Maori. Social and ethnic inequalities exist in orthodontic treatment need in Taranaki. The utilisation of orthodontic treatment appeared to be largely neither equitable nor rational.
Foster Page
L A
LA
Dental Unit, Taranaki District Health Board, David St, New Plymouth. lyndie.foster-page@tdhb.org.nz
Thomson
W M
WM
D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008310:Malocclusion / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000628:therapy; D009520:New Zealand / Q000453:epidemiology; D009971:Orthodontics, Corrective / Q000191:economics; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires