title: Orthodontic treatment attitude versus orthodontic treatment need: differences by gender, age, socioeconomical status and geographical context.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To investigate the relationship between the attitude towards orthodontic treatment and the objective level of orthodontic need, and variables like gender, socioeconomic status and geographical context, among 6- to 16-year-old children.
  
  
  METHODS
  The attitude of 2284 Italian children towards orthodontics was assessed using the Child Orthodontic Attitude Survey (COAS) questionnaire, previously validated for Italian-speaking children. The level of orthodontic need was evaluated by using the Risk of Malocclusion Assessment (ROMA) Index while socioeconomic status (SES) was based on parental job activities. The univariate analysis was performed using chi-square tests to find differences between groups for categorical variables, while multivariate analyses were conducted using logistic regression models.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Individuals with a higher SES had a statistically significant lower need of orthodontic treatment (P = 0.003). Children with a very high SES were from northern (20.8%) and central Italy (65.9%), while only 13.3% lived in southern Italy (P < 0.001). Logistic regression showed that females, older children, in-treatment subjects and children from the region of Puglia were more likely to have orthodontics (OR = 2.09; 95% CI: 1.66-2.64, OR = 1.08; 95% CI: 1.01-1.15, OR = 1.48, 95% CI: 1.11-1.97, OR = 1.43; 95% CI: 1.05-1.95, respectively).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The orthodontic treatment attitude largely depends on age, gender and geographical context but is not influenced by the real level of orthodontic therapy need.
authors.affiliation: Orthodontic Department, Institute of Dentistry, Catholic University of Sacred Heart, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Roberto
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Deli
authors.forename: Ludovica A
authors.initials: LA
authors.lastname: Macrì
authors.forename: Paola
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Radico
authors.forename: Francesca
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Pantanali
authors.forename: Domenico L
authors.initials: DL
authors.lastname: Grieco
authors.forename: Maria R
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Gualano
authors.forename: Giuseppe
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: La Torre
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000367:Age Factors; D001294:Attitude to Health; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D006301:Health Services Needs and Demand; D006801:Humans; D007558:Italy; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D009971:Orthodontics, Corrective; D012737:Sex Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires