Orthodontic treatment need and demand in a group of Nigerian adults: a teaching hospital-based study

Adults may be less influenced by peer perceptions and are, generally, more stable in their concerns about appearance compared to adolescents. This study aimed at assessing the level of objective orthodontic treatment need and demand for such care among the Nigerian adults in a referral centre (University College Hospital, Ibadan) as well as their social class. The Dental Aesthetic Index was used to assess the objective orthodontic treatment need while the social class of the subjects was according to the Registrar General's social class. During the study period (January 2001-September 2002), 49 adults aged 20-55 years with mean age of 25+ 6.3 (SD) years accounting for 27.5% of all orthodontic patients were seen. Equal proportions of the subjects had normal or minor malocclusions needing no treatment or slight treatment need and very severe or handicapping malocclusions with treatment considered mandatory (32.6% each). Next were severe malocclusions with treatment highly desirable accounting for 20.4%, followed by definite malocclusions with treatment elective (14.3%). Majority (71.4%) of the subjects was of the middle class families.