Early-life socioeconomic status and malocclusion in adolescents and young adults in Uruguay

Marília Leão Goettems, Mariana Ourens, Laura Cosetti, Susana Lorenzo, Ramon Álvarez-Vaz, Roger Keller Celeste

This study aims to estimate orthodontic treatment need among 15-24 year-old individuals in Montevideo, Uruguay, and the association of occlusal traits with demographic, clinical and socioeconomic factors, considering a life course approach. A cross-sectional study using data from the First National Oral Health Survey in Uruguay was conducted. A two-stage cluster procedure was used to select a sample of 278 individuals in Montevideo. Household interviews and oral examinations were performed by six dentists. Dental Aesthetic (DAI) and Decayed Missing and Filled Teeth Indices (DMFT) were used to assess orthodontic treatment need and dental caries, respectively. Early life and current socioeconomic factors were obtained from the interview. Ordinal logistic regression was used to model the DAI index. Prevalence of definite malocclusion was 20.6%, followed by severe (8.2%) and very severe (7.6%). In the adjusted analysis, individuals with untreated dental caries (OR = 1.11; 95%CI: 1.03-1.20) and those who reported a lower socioeconomic level at 6 years of age (OR = 5.52; 95%CI: 1.06-28.62) had a higher chance of being a worse case of malocclusion. Current socioeconomic position was not associated with orthodontic treatment need. Individuals aged 22-24 years (OR = 1.59; 95%CI: 1.05-2.41) had a lower chance than those aged 14-17. This study shows that orthodontic treatment need is relatively high in Uruguayan adolescents and young adults. There is a potential relationship between early life socioeconomic status and the occurrence of malocclusion in adolescents and young adults under a life course approach.