An Analysis of Correlation between Demand and Need for Orthodontic Treatment among Patients in Prince Sattam Bin Abdulaziz University Dental College Clinic, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

BACKGROUND The objective of the study is to determine whether there is any correlation between demand and need for orthodontic treatment among patients in Sattam Bin Abdulaziz University (SAU) Dental College Clinic. This study also provides a baseline data on the demand and need for orthodontic treatment among a Saudi population, which is important for planning public orthodontic dental services in the Kingdom. MATERIALS AND METHODS An epidemiological descriptive survey was conducted using two sets of questionnaire in the orthodontic clinic of Prince SAU, Al-Kharj among Saudi subjects with angle's Class I, Class II, and Class III malocclusions, between the ages of 10 and 30 years for a period of 6 months with purposive sampling method. RESULTS Using Spearman's rank correlation coefficient a significant correlation (0.482) was observed in male and female patients respectively with orthodontic demand (2) and treatment need (1) at 0.05 level of significance. A significant correlation (0.326) was observed for the study subjects (both males and females) with orthodontic demand (4) and treatment need (1) at 0.05 level of significance. A significant correlation (0.325) was observed in male patients with orthodontic demand (4) and treatment need (5) at 0.05 level of significance. CONCLUSIONS Patients with the higher orthodontic demand required high treatment needs and vice versa.