Early Orthodontic Treatment Needs of Children in High Caries Population Using Index for Preventive and Interceptive...

Early identification and management of developing malocclusion can reduce or eliminate the need for future complicated treatment procedures. The present study was undertaken to assess early orthodontic treatment needs in 6- and 9-year-old children using the index for preventive and interceptive orthodontic treatment need (IPION) in Pune, India.

A total of 360 children reporting to the Department of Pediatric and Preventive Dentistry were evaluated clinically and on their respective dental casts according to the IPION requirement. The overall scores were then categorized into "no treatment need," "moderate treatment need," and "definitive treatment need."

The final data obtained that around 6.1% of the children had no treatment need, 25% of the children had moderate treatment need, and 68.8% of the children had definitive treatment need.

Within the limitations of the study, we conclude that the studied population had a high early orthodontic treatment needs which can be attributed to the high caries in the study population.

This study provides a better alternative to determine early orthodontic treatment needs using IPION, as it includes more relevant orthodontic parameters in high caries population compared to conventional orthodontic treatment need indices.

Khan HA, Mathur A, Shetty SS, et al. Early Orthodontic Treatment Needs of Children in High Caries Population Using Index for Preventive and Interceptive Orthodontic Treatment Needs. Int J Clin Pediatr Dent 2024;17(10):1099-1103.