日本人高齢者の歯列審美感

Abstract

To be truly useful, an index must be applicable universally without modification. The Dental Aesthetic Index (DAI) is an orthodontic index based on socially defined aesthetic standards, and it is useful both in epidemiological surveys to identify need for orthodontic treatment as shown by its use by WHO in ICS-II and as a screening device to determine priority for subsidized orthodontic treatment. The DAI is an orthodontic index in the form of a regression equation that links the public's rating of the social acceptability of occlusal conditions (SASOC) with their clinically measured orthodontic traits. The previous study indicated that rankings of 25 stimuli (photographs of dental configurations) by Japanese students correlated highly with rankings by students from the USA, the German Democratic Republic, Australia, Korea and Thai land ; and adults from the USA, the German Democratic Republic and Australia ; and orthodontists from the USA. This study indicated the utility of the DAI in Japanese younger populations. When 221 elderly people living in Kitakyushu rated 25 occlusal stimuli for dental aesthetics, their ratings of these stimuli when arranged in rank order correlated highly with those of students from Japanese, the USA, the German Democratic Republic, Australia, Korea and Thai land ; and adults from the USA, the German Democratic Republic, Australia ; and orthodontists from the USA. The correlations shown were sufficiently high to assure us that perceptions of dental aesthetics by Japanese elderly people are very similar to those of other groups. The social norms for dental aesthetics do not differ in Japanese elderly people. We conclude that the DAI could have utility for both Japanese students and elderly people to assess need for orthodontic treatment. The data presented in this article support the use of the DAI without modification to assess need for orthodontic treatment in Japanese populations.