Evaluation of Orthodontic Treatment Need—An Ethnic and Gender Prospective

Abstract

Introduction: Index for Orthodontic Treatment Need is a widely used index to assess the orthodontic treatment need among various populations. Aim: The aim of this study is to evaluate and compare orthodontic treatment needs of Nepali among gender and ethnicity. Materials and Methods: A total of 800 children (400 males and 400 females) above 14 years of age were selected from different schools of Kathmandu using multistage sampling technique. The study sample was grouped into 2 ethnic groups: Indo-Aryan and Janajati. Two trained and calibrated examiners examined school-going children using Index for Orthodontic Treatment Need tool. Statistical comparison of the study variables by gender and ethnicity was done. Results: Dental Health Component showed 36.75% male and 34.5% female, and 39% Indo-Aryan and 29.76% Janajati had great treatment need. The Aesthetic Component (AC) showed 13.75% male and 12.25% female, and 12.5% Indo-Aryan 14.58% Janajati had great/severe need. Conclusions: Males had great/severe need of treatment for both Dental Health Component and Aesthetic Component (AC). Indo-Aryan showed higher degree of great/severe need for Dental Health Component and lesser degree of great/severe need for Aesthetic Component (AC) than Janajati.