The effect of six variables and their interrelation on the duration of orthodontic treatment.
Title:
The effect of six variables and their interrelation on the duration of orthodontic treatment.
Author:
N. B. Haralabakis K. Tsiliagkou
Appeared in:
Hellenic orthodontic review
Paging:
Volume 7 (2004) nr. 1 pages 45-57
Year:
2004
Contents:
AIM: Accurate prediction of the total treatment time needed, in order to consider a case finished, remains a clinical problem in orthodontics. The purpose of this retrospective study was the identification of the main factors that affect the duration of fixed appliance, single-phase orthodontic treatment. DESIGN: Retrospective analysis. SETTING: Data were collected a year ago from the records of a private orthodontic office in Athens. MATERIALS AND METHODS: By reviewing in alphabetical order the files of all patients treated by the same clinician between 1994-2001 we selected the first 360 patients who fulfilled the criteria we set for our research. Data for each patient were collected from initial diagnosis, detailed progress notes, pretreatment dental casts and panoramic radiographs. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The variables collected were: age, sex, extractions, molar relationship, degree of malocclusion, oral hygiene, number of meetings and treatment duration. RESULTS: Average treatment time was 19,9 months approximately. Almost half (46,33%) of the variation in treatment duration was explained by an equation containing the age of the patient, the molar relationship as determined by Angle’s classification, the value of PAR index, the number of the extracted teeth and the interaction between them. Nearly forty percent (39,21%) of the variation observed in the number of meetings was explained by a similar equation containing the age of the patient, the sex of the patient, the molar relationship according to Angle’s classification, the number of teeth extracted and the interaction between them. CONCLUSIONS: The identification of the factors that define precisely difficulty in orthodontic treatment may explain in a greater extent the variation in the duration of orthodontic treatment.
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