Malocclusion prevalence, orthodontic treatment need and demand among schoolchildren in Lithuania

The aim of this study was to assess the malocclusion prevalence, orthodontic treatment need and demand among Lithuanian schoolchildren. The objectives of the study: 1) to describe the malocclusion prevalence among Lithuanian schoolchildren in 10–11 and 14–15-year old age groups; 2) to evaluate the need for orthodontic treatment among 10–11, 14–15 year-old schoolchildren in Lithuania using the ICON index; 3) to investigate the association between normative (objective) and self-perceived (subjective) orthodontic treatment need; 4) to assess the associations of age, gender, and socioeconomic factors with dental appearance satisfaction and demand for orthodontic treatment. The survey was conducted in 41 randomly selected schools in 10 counties of Lithuania. The study recorded crowding, spacing, overbite, crossbite, relationship of the first upper and lower molars according to Angle’s classification, the orthodontic treatment need was assessed using the ICON index and the children were also invited to complete a questionnaire about treatment need and their appearance. The results showed that 77% of 10–11-year-old and 61.7% of 14–15-year-old schoolchildren had malocclusion. The treatment need among younger schoolchildren was higher than in older group. The subjective demand for orthodontic treatment among 10–11-year-old schoolchildren and 14–15-year-old schoolchildren was similar