Relationship between the occlusal and sociodemographic characteristics of patients of a Latin American Postgraduate Program in Orthodontics.

Abstract

Objective: To describe and compare the occlusal characteristics, and to determine their relationship with the sociodemographic characteristics in subjects who began treatment in the Postgraduate Program in Orthodontics at the University of Antioquia (Medellín-Colombia) between 2012-2016. Materials and Methods: This descriptive study included 106 patients (14-60 years, 52 women and 54 men). A calibrated investigator (Bland Altman: <1, Kappa: ?0.8) evaluated the discrepancy index (DI), the dental aesthetic index (DAI) and sociodemographic variables in standardized initial records. Correlations and associations between them were established. Results: The DAI mean was 35.62±12.76 and the DI mean was 20.37±13.78. The great majority of patients (92.4%) belonged to low and medium-low socioeconomic strata. Differences were observed regarding oral breathing (p=0.02) and atypical swallowing (p=0.01) indices. Discussion: Despite the severity and high complexity in the index scores, contrary to what was expected, no correlation was found between them. It seems that malocclusions do not have a particular sociodemographic characterization, with aesthetics being the main reason for consultation. Conclusions: The patients evaluated had a high degree of treatment complexity according to the DI and a high severity of malocclusion according to the DAI. No relationships were found between the indices and sociodemographic variables, except for habits of oral breathing and atypical swallowing.