Orthodontic treatment need and perception: A comparative study between different socio-economic groups of patients

Objectives: The aim of the present study was to compare parents' perceptions of their children's malocclusion and clinician-measured normative orthodontic treatment need with the socioeconomic status of the parents as a means of assessing whether demand for treatment is uniform across socioeconomic groups. Material and Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 212 (125 girls and 87 boys) subjects between the ages of 8 and 25 years (mean age 17.03 +/- 3.9) were assessed. The parents were asked to score the dental attractiveness of their children and their socioeconomic status (SES) based on the aesthetic component (AC) of the Index of Orthodontic Treatment Need (IOTN) and the modified Kuppuswamy scale (2018), respectively. The subjects recorded their self-perception using the OASIS scale. These scores were then compared within themselves and with those of the clinician who also scored the Dental Health Component (DHC) and AC of the IOTN. The AC grade of the IOTN and parents' SES was tested with the Chi-square test. The association between the AC scores of the IOTN, DHC, and the characteristics of the subjects was tested with Spearman's correlation coefficient (rho). Results: Treatment uptake was uniform throughout the different socioeconomic groups. Association between the SES group and DHC group and clinician-measured AC were statistically not significant (P = 0.3958), (P = 0.3447). Parents, in this study population, irrespective of their socioeconomic status rated their children's orthodontic treatment need less severely than the clinician (P = 0.0001). Severity of malocclusion as measured by DHC was much higher in male subjects than in females (P = 0.0348). Conclusion: Socioeconomic status of the parents did not seem to affect their perception of dental appearance. Self-perception of appearance and perceived treatment need was uniform throughout the different socioeconomic groups.