Early orthodontic treatment need among 6-9-year-old children of West Bengal

Background: Early orthodontic treatments (EOTs), which basically include interceptive and preventive orthodontic procedures, are relatively simple and cost-effective treatment approaches that target developing malocclusions during the mixed dentition period. The present study is aimed to assess the need for EOT among 6–9-year-old children of West Bengal that would benefit from preventive and interceptive orthodontic treatment to prevent or reduce the number of late/corrective orthodontic treatments, which can be complex, lengthy, and costly. Materials and Methods: A total of 1129 children from different public and private primary schools of West Bengal were evaluated using index for preventive and interceptive orthodontic need (IPION). On the basis of IPION, the overall scores of children were distributed into three groups – no treatment need, moderate treatment need, and definite treatment need. According to dental development, children were divided into two groups – IPION-6 and IPION-9. Results: Among 1129 children examined, 554 children (49.1%) came under the category of no treatment need, 174 children (15.4%) presented with moderate treatment need, and 401 children (35.5%) showed definite treatment need. The IPION groups had a significant effect on treatment need distribution (6 vs. 9, P = 0.010)); the IPION-9 scores were significantly higher than the IPION-6 scores. Conclusion: The prevalence of preventive and interceptive orthodontic treatment need is unsatisfactorily high in children of West Bengal, which highlights the importance of including preventive and interceptive orthodontic treatment in local dental health-care programs.