Need for orthodontic treatment among Tanzanian children.

OBJECTIVE To determine the need for orthodontic treatment among Tanzanian Bantu children. DESIGN Prospective study using dental casts. SETTING Sixteen randomly selected schools from the Ilala district, Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania. SUBJECT Six hundred and forty three Tanzanian children from an urban district. METHOD Dental casts of 643 Tanzanian subjects in age groups 3-5, 6-8, 9-11 and 15-16 years, were assessed using the Index of Orthodontic Treatment Need (IOTN). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Need for orthodontic treatment. RESULTS Aesthetic treatment need (AC grades 8-10) and dental health component (DHC grades 4-5) occurred in 5-15% and 16-36% of the studied children, respectively. The need measured by DHC increased significantly between the two oldest age groups. An absolute need measured by combining AC grades 8-10 and DHC grades 4-5 was found in 3-12% of the subjects and it increased significantly with age (p<0.03). The most prevalent severe occlusal feature placing the children in the great need category was cross bite. While about 3-19% of the children had distal occlusion (Angle's Class II), mesial molar occlusion (Angle's Class III) was rare, occurring in 1-3% of the children. CONCLUSIONS This study provides baseline data on the need for orthodontic treatment among Tanzanian children that may be useful for the public oral health service to determine priority for orthodontic treatment as part of comprehensive child oral health care in Tanzania.