Evaluation of relationship between orthodontic treatment need according Dental Aesthetic Index (DAI) and student’s perception in 11-14 year old students in the city of Shiraz in 2012.

Background: Although the demand for orthodontic treatment is affected by understanding the needs for treatment and costs, patients’ concerns do not always match with expert’s assessments. To gain a clearer understanding of children’s orthodontic needs, treatment recommendations and how an abnormality can affect a child’s quality of life is critical. Information on the relationship between assessment of need for treatment and an individual’s perception of need for orthodontic treatment is of great interest for orthodontic service providers. The present study aimed to assess the relationship between need for orthodontic treatment according to Dental Aesthetic Index (DAI) and individuals’ perception of need for treatment in 11-14 year old students. Methods: In this study, 240 primary and middle school students from the four educational districts of Shiraz were selected through multi-stage random sampling and completed the study questionnaire. Then dental examination was done by the dentist according to DAI index to determine the student’s need for orthodontic treatment. Results: According to the results, 73.8% of the students had DAI score of13-25 (little or no need for treatment), 15.2% had DAI score of 25-30 (specific malocclusion with elective need for treatment), 4.4% had DAI score of 30-35 (severe malocclusion with extreme need for treatment), and 6.7% had DAI score exceeding 35 indicating their serious need for orthodontic treatment. The total mean score of DAI was 23.57. Conclusion: The results revealed a significant relationship between the students’ perception of need for treatment and professional assessment of need for orthodontic treatment based on DAI index (P = 0.002).

The effectiveness of oral health education by peers on knowledge and performance of students in Zabol, Iran.

Oral diseases are the extensive human diseases, especially among children and more than 99% of people suffer from this disease. Oral and dental education by peers provides a good condition to form the health behaviors before adulthood. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of oral and dental education by peers on knowledge and behavior of first grade female students in Zabol, Iran. In this quasi-experimental study conducted in 2012, 287 female primary students were randomly selected and studied in Zabol. Pre-test and post-test performed with the completing a questionnaire that was designed to assess knowledge and behavior of brushing and using sodium fluoride mouthwash. The validity of the results was determined through expert panel and the reliability was determined by Cronbach`s alpha (N=30, =0. 77). One person from each class in the intervention group was selected as a peer educator and was educated via an education plate. The post-test was performed after one month of education. For data analysis, descriptive and analytical tests (paired and independent t-test) in SPSS 18 software were used. There was a significant difference between the mean scores of two groups in knowledge and behavior after education, so that the mean score of knowledge and behavior of students who were educated by peers were higher than that of them before education (P<0.001). Oral and dental education of students by peers is a simple, inexpensive, and effective method which can be used by health system, truly.