Orthodontic condition
More children wearing braces
Types of orthodontic appliance worn by 12 and 15 year olds (United Kingdom 1993, 2003)
More 15 year olds were reported to be undergoing orthodontic treatment at the time of the survey: from 5 per cent in 1983, to 11 per cent in 1993, to 14 per cent in 2003.
Among 15 year olds orthodontic treatment need and provision was associated with the deprivation status of the school children attended. The survey found 15 per cent of 15 year olds attending non-deprived schools were wearing an appliance compared with 10 per cent in deprived schools.
Most orthodontic appliances worn were fixed. In children wearing appliances, the proportion with fixed appliances rose between 1993 and 2003: from 49 per cent to 72 per cent in 12 year olds and from 68 per cent to 83 per cent in 15 year olds. The proportion of children wearing removable appliances declined over the same period.
Among children not undergoing treatment more 12-year-olds (35 per cent) were assessed as having a need for treatment than 15 year olds (21 per cent); and more 15 year olds (65 per cent) 15 year olds were not considered to be in need of orthodontic treatment than 12 year olds (57 per cent).
A higher proportion of parents of 12 year olds (44 per cent) reported that their child had problems with crooked or protruding teeth than did parents of 15 year olds (28 per cent). There was some disparity between parents' views on the need for treatment and dentists’ views recorded in the clinical examination. For example, among 12 year olds judged not in need of treatment on aesthetic grounds by the examining dentist, 36 per cent of parents thought the child had crooked teeth, and 18 per cent believed they had protruding teeth.
Notes: An orthodontic appliance is an appliance such as a brace used to help straighten teeth.
Schools with more than 30 per cent of students eligible for free school meals were categorised as deprived.
printer-friendly
Children's Dental Health home