Estimates of orthodontic treatment need in Danish schoolchildren

Orthodontic treatment need has been assessed on the basis of complete orthodontic records in a random sample of 293 Danish children aged 13-17 years by a group of postgraduate orthodontic students and by three orthodontists. The estimates of treatment need ranged from 45% to 61%. Interexaminer agreement in pairs was observed in 77%-92% (mean 83%) of the cases. Uniformity in four individual assessments was reached in 69% of the cases: 38% were considered in need of treatment and 31% were considered not to present such need; conversely, 31% gave rise to disagreement. It is argued that, at present, the orthodontist's subjective estimate of treatment need probably constitutes a more realistic approach to the problem of assigning treatment priority than the various indices of malocclusion.