Parents' views on their own child's dentition compared with an orthodontist's assessment

A questionnaire was sent to the parents of 261 7-8-year-old children, asking their views on their own child's dental appearance and function, their own dental appearance, history of orthodontic treatment in the family, and the best age for starting orthodontic treatment for children. Parents' opinions were compared with an orthodontist's assessment of treatment need. Parents' anxiety about their child's dentition coincided in 60 per cent with the orthodontist's assessment, agreement being stronger for malocclusions affecting the anterior teeth. The parents regarded the child's dental appearance and function to be good or rather good in 59 and 53 per cent, respectively, with only a few (7 and 9 per cent) regarding it as poor or rather poor. There was a statistically significant association between parents' anxiety and their opinion on the child's dental appearance and function, but no association was found between their anxiety and opinions on their own dental appearance. Most parents thought 7-8 years to be the best age for starting orthodontic treatment. The study indicates that in a dental care system, where children visit their dentist regularly, the parents' awareness of orthodontic problems agrees fairly well with the orthodontist's assessment of treatment need and the parents also seem to accept the concept of early treatment.