The Dental Aesthetic Index and Its Association with Dental Caries, Dental Plaque and Socio-Demographic Variables in Schoolchildren Aged 12 and 15 Years

Maxillofacial Morphology as a Predictive Factor for Caries Risk in Orthodontic Patients: A Cross-Sectional Study

This cross-sectional study aimed to explore the correlation between maxillofacial morphology and caries risk, assessed using salivary tests, in orthodontic patients. Despite enhancing the oral health-related quality of life, orthodontic treatment may adversely affect oral hygiene and increase caries risk. This study included 1071 patients all of whom underwent orthodontic examinations and salivary tests before starting orthodontic treatment at a hospital. Salivary tests were performed to assess the secretion rate, pH, buffering capacity, and counts of cariogenic bacteria. The maxillofacial morphology was evaluated using cephalometric X-rays and dental models. Statistical analyses revealed significant correlations among salivary characteristics, bacterial scores, and maxillofacial morphology. Notably, the facial angle and Y-axis values were associated with salivary secretion (p < 0.001), pH (p < 0.001), buffering capacity (p < 0.05), and cariogenic bacterial scores (p < 0.01), respectably. In conclusion, assessing the maxillofacial morphology before orthodontic treatment may aid in predicting the risk of bacterial oral diseases, offering valuable insights into personalized preventive measures. These findings underscore the potential for comprehensive evaluations to enhance caries risk assessment in orthodontic patients.

Evaluation of different aesthetic indices for planning orthodontic treatment

Three aesthetic indices namely aesthetic component of index of orthodontic treatment needs (IOTN -AC), dental aesthetic index (DAI) and dental aesthetics screening index (DESI) were compared in orthodontic treatment. 242 participants (160 female and 82 male) who were interested in orthodontic treatment participated. The individuals' ages ranged from 16-25 years. Three aesthetic indices namely IOTN -AC, DAI and DESI were evaluated for each participant. The overall accuracy of DAI, AC-IOTN and DESI in assessment of dental aesthetics in orthodontic treatment was 62%, 68% and 64% respectively. The Negative predictive value (NPV) was higher than Positive predictive value (PPV) for all indices. The sensitivity was greater than specificity for all indices. It was observed that values of sensitivity, specificity, PPV and NPV were high for AC-IOTN. The findings were significant statistically (p<0.05).

Impact of Dental Aesthetic Index characteristics on the severity levels of malocclusion in a non-White population

INTRODUCTION

This study evaluated the impact of the esthetic and occlusal characteristics of the Dental Aesthetic Index (DAI) on the need for orthodontic treatment in a non-White population.

METHODS

A cross-sectional study was conducted with 1296 non-White adolescents aged 12 years. DAI was the outcome variable (DAI 1 and 2 and DAI 3 and 4). The independent variables were categorized on the basis of the occlusal esthetic characteristics evaluated by DAI (tooth absence, crowding, spacing, midline diastema, maxillary misalignment, mandibular misalignment, maxillary anterior overjet, mandibular overjet, anterior open bite, and anteroposterior molar relationship). Simple logistic regression models were adjusted for the outcome, and the raw odds ratios were estimated. Variables with a P value of <0.20 for individual analyses were tested in a multiple logistic regression model, with P ≤0.05 remaining.

RESULTS

A total of 1296 adolescents (764 girls and 532 boys) were evaluated; 1067 (82.3%) had DAI 1 or 2 (minor to a moderate need for orthodontic treatment), and 229 (17.7%) had DAI 3 or 4 (defined need for orthodontic treatment). The results showed that adolescents with diastema, maxillary irregularity, mandibular irregularity, mandibular overjet, anterior open bite, and the altered molar relationship had 5.34, 2.36, 2.63, 3.56, 8.73, and 5.16 times more likelihood to have DAI 3 or 4 (P ≤0.05), respectively.

CONCLUSIONS

Diastema, maxillary and mandibular misalignment, mandibular overjet, anterior open bite, and anteroposterior molar relationship were the characteristics that influenced the determination of the need for orthodontic treatment in a non-White population using the DAI index.