title: [Need for orthodontic treatment among Brazilian adolescents: evaluation based on public health].
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To identify the prevalence and the severity of malocclusions and to analyze factors associated with the need for orthodontic treatment of Brazilian adolescents.
  
  
  METHODS
  This exploratory, cross-sectional study was carried out based on secondary data from the national epidemiological survey on oral health in Brazil (2002-2003). Socio-demographic conditions, self-perception, and the existence and degree of malocclusion, using the Dental Aesthetic Index, were evaluated in 16,833 adolescent Brazilians selected by probabilistic sample by conglomerates. The dependent variable - need orthodontic treatment - was estimated from the severity of malocclusion. The magnitude and direction of the association in bivariate and multivariate analyzes from a Robust Poisson regression was estimated.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The majority of the adolescents needed orthodontic treatment (53.2%). In the multivariate analysis, the prevalence of the need for orthodontic treatment was larger among females, non-whites, those that perceived a need for treatment, and those that perceived their appearance as normal, bad, or very bad. The need for orthodontic treatment was smaller among those that lived in the Northeast and Central West macro-regions compared to those living in Southeast Brazil and it was also smaller among those that perceived their chewing to be normal or their oral health to be bad or very bad.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  There was a high prevalence of orthodontic treatment need among adolescents in Brazil and this need was associated with demographic and subjective issues. The high prevalence of orthodontic needs in adolescents is a challenge to the goals of Brazil's universal public health system.
authors.affiliation: Universidade Estadual de Montes Claros (Unimontes), Montes Claros, MG, Brasil.
authors.forename: Carolina Vieira de
authors.initials: CV
authors.lastname: Freitas
authors.affiliation: Universidade Estadual de Campinas (Unicamp), Piracicaba, SP, Brasil.
authors.forename: João Gabriel Silva
authors.initials: JG
authors.lastname: Souza
authors.affiliation: Universidade Estadual de Montes Claros (Unimontes), Montes Claros, MG, Brasil.
authors.forename: Danilo Cangussu
authors.initials: DC
authors.lastname: Mendes
authors.affiliation: Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais (UFMG), Belo Horizonte, MG, Brasil.
authors.forename: Isabela Almeida
authors.initials: IA
authors.lastname: Pordeus
authors.affiliation: Universidade Estadual de Montes Claros (Unimontes), Montes Claros, MG, Brasil.
authors.forename: Kimberly Marie
authors.initials: KM
authors.lastname: Jones
authors.affiliation: Universidade Estadual de Montes Claros (Unimontes), Montes Claros, MG, Brasil. Electronic address: martins.andreamebl@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Andréa Maria Eleutério de Barros Lima
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Martins
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D001938:Brazil / Q000453:epidemiology; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006301:Health Services Needs and Demand / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008310:Malocclusion / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000628:therapy*; D009971:Orthodontics, Corrective; D015995:Prevalence; D011634:Public Health; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Adolescent; Adolescente; Malocclusion; Má oclusão; Oral health; Public health; Saúde bucal; Saúde pública