Are adults enough motivated for orthodontic treatment: A questionnaire study

Context: Facial esthetics is an important determinant of self and social perceptions. Increased awareness toward orthodontic treatment has led to increase in number of adults seeking orthodontic treatment to improve their facial appearance. Understanding of different factors associated with adult orthodontic treatment allows better assessment of the requirements and priorities of adults during the treatment. Aims: The aim of this study was to assess different motivational factors which lead to adults seeking orthodontic treatment. Settings and Design: The adult patients coming to orthodontic outpatient department were given a questionnaire before the start of the treatment. Materials and Methods: A sample of 45 adult patients which included fifteen males and thirty females within the age group of 18–35 years was taken who had come for orthodontic treatment. These patients were asked to fill a questionnaire before the start of the treatment. Statistical Analysis Used: Differences in response of patients toward treatment were also evaluated gender wise using t-test. The t- test was also used to determine the influence of the scores combined in each of the four subgroups in the questionnaire. Results: On assessing different factors which motivated adults to seek orthodontic treatment, it was found that most of the patients realized the need for the orthodontic treatment in adult age only followed by the fact that adult patients were mostly unhappy about their dental appearance in perception of their smile before treatment which motivated them to seek treatment at this age.