Relationship Between Index of Complexity, Outcome and Need and Dental Aesthetic Index in the Assessment of Orthodontic Treatment Complexity and Need of Nigerian Adolescents

Abstract

Objective: To assess the relationship between Index of Complexity, Outcome and Need (ICON) and Dental Aesthetic Index (DAI) in the assessment of orthodontic treatment complexity and need among adolescents in Ibadan, Nigeria. Methods: The orthodontic treatment complexity and need of 274 adolescents drawn from 4 secondary schools in Ibadan city, Nigeria aged 12-17 years – 142 (51.8%) females and 132 (48.2%) males were examined using the ICON. The orthodontic treatment need of the same subjects was assessed using the DAI. One investigator assessed all the subjects. In addition to descriptive and chi-square statistics, non-parametric correlations (Spearman Rank Order and Pearson’s Product Moment Correlation Coefficients) were used to test the relationship between the indices. Results: Both indices agreed that 102 (37.2%) of the subjects had no treatment need while out of 27 (9.9%) that ICON considered as belonging to the difficult/very difficult complexity grades, DAI grouped 22 (8.0%) of them as having handicapping malocclusions. The agreements between the indices for both treatment needs as well as for complexity and severity of malocclusions were very statistically significant (P < .01). Overall, the correlations of the scores by both indices were found to be positively strong and very significant (r = .715; P < .01). Conclusion: Both orthodontic indices agreed satisfactorily on both facets of orthodontic treatment provision assessed, suggesting that ICON could validly be used to assess such in orthodontic care of Nigerians.