Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2021 May 13;18(10):5201.
doi: 10.3390/ijerph18105201.

Are the Reasons Why Patients Are Referred for an Orthodontic Visit Correct?

Marco Di Blasio  1 , Benedetta Vaienti  1 , Giuseppe Pedrazzi  2 , Diana Cassi  3 , Marisabel Magnifico  1 , Sara Meneghello  1 , Alberto Di Blasio  1
Affiliations

Are the Reasons Why Patients Are Referred for an Orthodontic Visit Correct?

Marco Di Blasio et al. Int J Environ Res Public Health. .

Abstract

Who does refer patients for an orthodontic consultation? Which are the main reasons for the referral? Does the visit of the orthodontic specialist confirm these reasons or reveal undiagnosed problems? Is there the risk that only evident dental problems are addressed, while craniofacial malformations remain underdiagnosed? This cross-sectional epidemiologic study aims to answer these questions, analysing the clinical data collected during the orthodontic visits of 500 Caucasian young patients referred to a public health structure of northern Italy. All patients were visited by the same expert specialist in orthodontics. Clinical data were collected, analysing both dental and skeletal features. The reasons for the referral of the visit were analysed and compared with the specialistic diagnoses. In our sample, dentists, relatives/friends and paediatricians were the major source of the referrals, followed by family doctors and other facial specialists. In most cases, the reasons for the referral were dental irregularities, but approximately 80% of dental irregularities were associated with undiagnosed facial dysmorphism. Skeletal facial anomalies need an early diagnosis to prevent the development of severe facial malformations that would require invasive and expensive treatments. These findings reveal poor diagnostic skills regarding skeletal anomalies in dentists and paediatricians and the need for better specific training.

Keywords: community dentistry; delayed diagnoses; facial deformities; orthodontic diagnosis.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Overjet, overbite and crowding–spacing dental irregularities are frequently the main reasons for an orthodontic consultation.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Sagittal position of the chin related to the vertical line from the glabella cutaneous point.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Vertical position of the chin related to the mid and upper third of the face.
Figure 4
Figure 4
The symmetry axis of the face.
Figure 5
Figure 5
Overall sample. In total, 407 patients were referred for an aesthetic dental problem: 344 (85%) referrals were incorrect; 80 patients were referred for a skeletal problem: only in 4 (5%) cases, the referral was incorrect.
Figure 6
Figure 6
Reasons for the consultation.
Figure 7
Figure 7
(a) In the group referred for aesthetic problems, several patients presented also undiagnosed skeletal disharmonies. (b) In the group referred for skeletal problems, almost all the diagnoses were correct.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

References

    1. Edgerton M.T., Jr., Knorr N.J. Motivational patterns of patients seeking cosmetic (esthetic) surgery. Plast. Reconstr. Surg. 1971;48:551–557. doi: 10.1097/00006534-197112000-00005. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Proffit W.R., White R.P. Surgical-Orthodontic Treatment. Mosby Year Book; St. Louis, MO, USA: 1990.
    1. McKiernan E.X., McKiernan F., Jones M.L. Psychological profiles and motives of adults seeking orthodontic treatment. Int. J. Adult Orthod. Orthognath. Surg. 1992;7:187–198. - PubMed
    1. Sergl H.G., Zentner A. Study of psychosocial aspects of adult orthodontic treatment. Int. J. Adult Orthod. Orthognath. Surg. 1997;12:17–22. - PubMed
    1. Kerosuo H. Occlusion in the primary and early mixed dentitions in a group of Tanzanian and Finnish children. ASDC J. Dent. Child. 1990;57:293–298. - PubMed