Handicapping malocclusion assessment record in direct mouth examination

Abstract

M uch has been written recently about the impending flood of orthodontic patients expected when the various third-party programs of dental care are in full operation. Many states which provide dentistry under Title XIX legislation have already experienced an increased public demand for orthodontics. At the present time a cutback in federal funds has caused a reduction in most state dental programs under Medicaid. This condition is no doubt temporary, since it would be almost impossible to permanently curtail a social program so popular with the voting public. As economic conditions permit, we must expect a re-establishment and even an expansion of federally funded dental programs. In addition to Medicaid, there is another potential source of orthodontic patients which, over the near term, may prove even more expansive. This is the field of private prepaid dental plans. In this category are the commercial insurance companies, Blue Cross and Blue Shield, and the dental service corporations. It has been estimated that by 19’75, more than 50,000,OOO persons will be covered by some form of dental health insurance, which probably will include orthodontic treatment. Faced with the prospect of an increasing demand for orthodontic care, and realizing that funds for treat,mcnt as well as professional personnel may be inndeqnate, dental administrators have been searching for dependable ways to tncasu~u~‘c, record, ii~alyzc, i~~tl classify tlcntofaeial deviations on an epidemiologic basis. If predictions rclgardirig orthodontic dcmand are accurate, a priority system of treat.ment will be necessary. Obviously, it would be impossible to provide qualit,g orthodontic care for such vast numbers of children, even if adequate funds were available. The task of setting ol*thodontic treat,rnent priorities requires a system of measurement. or assessment of malocclusion which, for large-scale use, must be as objective as possible with clearly defined terms. It should furnish the necessary data without being so complex that t.raining examiners in its use t,akes long