Relationship between malocclusion and maintenance of teeth.

The relationship between the presence of malocclusion and maintenance of teeth in adulthood was studied in a randomly drawn sample of 499 35-44-yr-old Danes. Maintenance of teeth in the past was expressed through the number of teeth present, attachment level and information of regularity of dental visits. Maintenance at present was expressed as caries present, plaque and gingivitis. The relationship of these parameters to the presence of a malocclusion symptom was analyzed directly and the indirect influence was studied through the influence of a subjectively perceived malocclusion and its impact on satisfaction. It appeared that satisfaction was significantly related to maintenance of teeth and to a positive dental behavior. A perceived malocclusion was shown to have a negative influence on satisfaction and thus indirectly on maintenance. If a public orthodontic service is aiming at lifetime maintenance of teeth, malocclusions leading to dissatisfaction with teeth and a subjectively perceived need should be taken into consideration when ranking children with regard to treatment priority.