Giordano Alessandra, Guarnieri Rosanna, Galluccio Gabriella, Cassetta Michele, Di Giorgio Roberto, Polimeni Antonella, Barbato Ersilia
Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Sciences, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy, Phone: +39 0649976611, e-mail:
Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Sciences, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy.
J Contemp Dent Pract. 2019 May 1;20(5):631-638.
The objective of this epidemiological survey is to investigate the dental-skeletal features of subjects attending the Public Dental Service in Unità Operativa Complessa (UOC) (Orthodontic Department of "La Sapienza University of Rome") and compare them with the existing body of evidence obtained from other surveys. Accordingly, the Index of Orthodontic Treatment Need (IOTN) was employed, in order to achieve a common framework to allow the shaping of public health prevention practices.
A sample of 3,491 subjects in the Orthodontic Department of "La Sapienza-University of Rome" (UOC) was evaluated with the adoption of IOTN to define malocclusion severity.
In the result analysis, it was observed that class II malocclusion was more frequent in the sample (40%), and a large part of the examined population also presented mandibular dental crowding (43%), increased overjet (41%), and increased overbite (38%). Only 26.44% (20.17% IOTN 4; 6.27% IOTN 5) had strong need for orthodontic treatment.
The realization of epidemiological investigations to establish priority for treatment need is, therefore, particularly useful, not only to estimate the prevalence of some clinical conditions in the observed population, but also to plan targeted interventions, such as interceptive and corrective therapies in growing children.
These interventions could solve specific clinical situations and/or prevent their escalation. Only in this way, it is possible to avoid fragmentation of the limited resources available, using them for patients with an objective need.
本次流行病学调查的目的是研究在综合手术单元（UOC）（罗马第一大学正畸科）接受公共牙科服务的受试者的牙齿骨骼特征，并将其与其他调查所得的现有证据进行比较。因此，采用了正畸治疗需求指数（IOTN），以建立一个通用框架，从而制定公共卫生预防措施。
采用IOTN对罗马第一大学正畸科的3491名受试者进行评估，以确定错牙合畸形的严重程度。
在结果分析中，观察到样本中II类错牙合畸形更为常见（40%），并且大部分受检人群还存在下颌牙列拥挤（43%）、覆盖增加（41%）和覆牙合增加（38%）。只有26.44%（IOTN 4为20.17%；IOTN 5为6.27%）有强烈的正畸治疗需求。
因此，开展流行病学调查以确定治疗需求的优先级特别有用，这不仅有助于估计观察人群中某些临床情况的患病率，还能规划有针对性的干预措施，如对生长发育期儿童的阻断性和矫治性治疗。
这些干预措施可以解决特定的临床情况和/或防止其恶化。只有这样，才有可能避免有限资源的分散，将其用于有客观需求的患者。
