Relationship between orthodontic expertise and perception of treatment needs for maxillary protrusion: comparison of dental students, residents, and orthodontists.
BACKGROUND
The aims of this study were to assess the peer assessment rating (PAR) index in relation to perceived treatment needs for maxillary protrusion in Japanese subjects and to investigate how perceived orthodontic treatment needs change with increased experience in dentistry and orthodontics.


METHODS
The subjects were 155 persons (73 men, 82 women; mean age, 24.2 years; SD, 4.7 years) including dental students, residents, and orthodontists. We showed them casts from 10 patients with untreated maxillary protrusion and gave them a questionnaire with a 100-point visual analog scale (VAS), concerning their perceptions of orthodontic treatment needs. The PAR index was used for cast evaluation.


RESULTS
The PAR index showed significant correlations with the VAS scores. On the casts evaluated with a PAR index below 17, there was no difference in VAS scores between the 3 groups; however, orthodontists perceived significantly greater treatment needs than did students and residents on casts with a PAR index of 18 or 19. The VAS scores were significantly increased when casts with a PAR index of more than 20 and overjet above 5.0 mm were evaluated. Orthodontists and residents perceived greater treatment needs than students on assessing occlusions with severe maxillary protrusion.


CONCLUSIONS
The PAR index is clinically useful to evaluate malocclusion, and the perception of treatment needs was significantly greater when the maxillary protrusion cast had a PAR index of more than 20 and overjet above 5.0 mm. Perceived needs for orthodontic treatment for maxillary protrusion changed with increasing experience and skills in dentistry and orthodontics.
Kuroda
Shingo
S
Department of Orthodontics and Dentofacial Orthopedics, The University of Tokushima Graduate School of Oral Sciences, Tokushima, Japan. kuroda@dent.tokushima-u.ac.jp
Fuji
Akihito
A
Sugie
Maiko
M
Uoi
Shizuka
S
Kondo
Ryosuke
R
Ando
Ryoko
R
Yamashiro
Takashi
T
D000328:Adult; D002983:Clinical Competence / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D003753:Dental Health Surveys; D003815:Dentists; D004955:Esthetics, Dental; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007396:Internship and Residency; D008297:Male; D008310:Malocclusion / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology; D008437:Maxilla / Q000002:abnormalities; D020380:Needs Assessment / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D015588:Observer Variation; D009970:Orthodontics / Q000193:education / Q000592:standards; D009971:Orthodontics, Corrective / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D010380:Peer Review; D011378:Prognathism / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology; D013335:Students, Dental; D055815:Young Adult