A 15-year follow-up study of 30-year-old Danes with regard to orthodontic treatment experience and perceived need for treatment in a region without organized orthodontic care.

It was the aim to study orthodontic treatment experience and past and present perceived need for treatment in 30-year-old Danes who, at adolescence, had no access to organized orthodontic care. In order to identify the malocclusion traits which elicited treatment or need for treatment, the findings were related to the occurrence of various traits which had been registered in the same individuals 15 years earlier. From questionnaires (response rate 86%, n = 841) it appeared that 10% had received treatment and 20% perceived need for treatment either in childhood or at present. At adolescence, the subjects who had subsequently received treatment, displayed relatively high frequencies of ectopic eruption, anterior cross-bite, extreme maxillary overjet, deep bite, and crowding; among those who perceived need for treatment, extreme maxillary overjet, mandibular overjet and crowding were relatively prevalent.