Hälsorisker vid obehandlade malocklusioner
Hur väljer man ut patienter som ska få ortodontisk behandling i de olika nordiska länderna? Hur skiljer sig synen på oral och allmän hälsa? Använder de nordiska kollegorna traditionella behovsindex eller kanske inget index alls? Här redogörs bland annat för resultaten från olika studier av bettavvikelsers påverkan på allmänhälsan samt för var, när och hur man sätter in ortodontisk behandling i Sverige, Norge, Danmark respektive Finland.
Health hazards caused by malocclusions: The term health can be given a wide range of meanings from psychosocial satisfaction to absence of any pathological conditions. The description of malocclusions usually emanates from a constructed norm of the ideal occlusion. Profound negative psychological impact of malocclusions has not been found so far. On the other hand, there appears today to be a great focus on aesthetics, not least in teenagers. The influence of dissatisfaction with the occlusion on quality of life deserves further investigations. The influence of malocclusions on caries, periodontitis, chewing ability, speech and temporomandibular disorders seems in general to be fairly minor. The scientific base for conclusions is often insufficient or contradictory. The principles of selection of patients for orthodontic treatment differs somewhat between the Nordic countries. Denmark has a screening procedure. In the other countries, various treatment priority indices are commonly used. In Norway differentiated national funding for treatment is related to a kind of index. The selected children/teenagers in Denmark and Sweden have their orthodontic treatment free of charge up to the age of 19 years and in Finland up to the age of 18 years. The proportion of children/teenagers who receive orthodontic treatment shows a range between the four Nordic countries from 11 to 35%. There is also a considerable variation between different areas within the countries.
