European Journal of Molecular & Clinical Medicine

Abstract

Orthodontic tooth movement prior to prosthetic treatment is necessary for some patients, in order to optimize both esthetic and functional aspects of dental treatment.A patient may require prosthetic orthodontic interdisciplinary treatment when he/she has missing teeth.Orthodontic treatment will help in correcting the tooth alignment such that sufficient space is available for replacement.However,even though various options are available for treatment of missing teeth, patients preference is of utmost importance. The aim of the study is to assess the frequency of adolescents with missing teeth willing to undergo orthodontic correction before prosthetic replacement.It is a university setting study. 322 adolescent patients reporting to the orthodontic department in Saveetha dental college were included in the study. These patients were assessed for missing teeth and their willingness to undergo orthodontic correction. The data was entered in SPSS and analyzed using Chi square test. From the results, it was observed that the majority (54%) of the adolescents with missing teeth were not willing to undergo orthodontic correction before prosthetic replacement. Individuals in the age group of 16 to 20 years (65% ) showed more willingness for orthodontic treatment. Also, 58% of the females in the study population were willing for orthodontic correction while only 39% of the males preferred orthodontic correction.Within the limitations of the current study, it can be concluded that the majority of the adolescents with missing teeth were not willing for orthodontic correction before prosthetic replacement.This may be due to increased treatment time required and lack of awareness on the effectiveness of interdisciplinary treatment approach.