Article information
Year 2020 Volume 70 Issue 1 Page 36-44
Title:
Consistency of Orthodontic Treatment Need Indexes in the Community between Orthodontist, General Dentist and Dental Nurse
Keyword(s):
Orthodontic treatment need, Community Orthodontic Treatment Need index, Dental Aesthetic Index, Dental nurse, General dentist
Abstract:
The objective of this study was to evaluate the consistency and time consumed of the Community Orthodontic
Treatment Need (COTN) index that was developed by researchers from the Faculty of Dentistry, Prince of Songkla
University compared with the Dental Aesthetic Index (DAI). The samples consisted of 80 students (18 males
and 62 females) aged 15 to 20 years (17.6±1.6 years) in Hat Yai, Songkhla. The samples were examined with DAI
and COTN indexes by orthodontist, standardized and well-trained general dentist and dental nurse. Statistical analysis
included the Kappa coefficient and paired t-test. Result: Both indexes had good consistency between examiners
but COTN was more consistent than DAI. The inter-examiner consistency between orthodontist and general dentist
was higher than for orthodontist and dental nurse (Kappa of DAI=0.709 and 0.618, Kappa of COTN=0.717 and 0.623,
respectively). When comparing the times consumed between DAI and COTN indexes, the results revealed no significant
difference in time consumption between the orthodontist and general dentist (P>0.05) but dental nurse used significantly
more time to examine both indexes than orthodontist (P<0.01). In addition, dental nurse used significantly less time
with COTN than DAI (P=0.001). This study concluded that well-trained dental nurse and general dentist were able
to determine orthodontic treatment need using both indexes. Higher consistency and less time consumption were
found when performing with the COTN index compared to the DAI index.