Loading...
CONTRIBUTING FACTORS AND TRENDS IN TREATMENT TYPE FOR ORTHODONTICS PATIENTS IN THE NORTH PHILADELPHIA REGION
Middleberg, Jordyn Marissa
Middleberg, Jordyn Marissa
Citations
Altmetric:
Genre
Thesis/Dissertation
Date
2025-08
Advisor
Committee member
Group
Department
Oral Biology
Subject
Permanent link to this record
Collections
Research Projects
Organizational Units
Journal Issue
DOI
https://doi.org/10.34944/p4a7-ea33
Abstract
Orthodontics is an ever-changing field with new treatment modalities shifting the way treatment is completed. Orthodontic treatment is commonly achieved with traditional brackets and wires or the more recent treatment modality of clear aligner therapy (CAT). The decision to use brackets or aligners is determined by the clinician and patient. If a patient prefers CAT, the clinician needs to evaluate if the goals of treatment can be completed with aligners. The success of orthodontic treatment relies on the clinician’s diagnosis and treatment plan, in addition to the patient’s compliance. This study aims to assess the correlations among various factors- such as age, case complexity (measured by ABO Discrepancy Index), Angle’s classification of malocclusion, utilization of extractions, and estimated treatment time in which aligner treatment is utilized in the private paying section of patients treated in a graduate orthodontic clinic located in North Philadelphia. Additionally, the study will explore trends in treatment modality choice over the years, including the COVID-19 pandemic time period.
Methods: Data was extrapolated from a de-identified patient treatment information spreadsheet provided by the Department of Orthodontics at Temple University. The spreadsheet contained patient age, ABO Discrepancy Index (DI), Angle’s Classification of malocclusion, treatment modality (braces or Invisalign), extractions utilized for treatment, estimated treatment time, and appliance start date. The spreadsheet contained information from patients with treatment start dates between August 1st, 2015 to August 1st, 2023. Baseline demographic, clinical, and treatment-related characteristics of the bracket group and aligner group were described using descriptive statistics. Annual percent of aligner treatments was calculated during the study time periods. Differences in baseline characteristics between aligner and bracket groups were evaluated via independent t-tests (for continuous variables) and chi-squared tests (for categorical variables).
Results: There was a statistically significant difference in age (p<0.001), DI score (p=0.003), estimated treatment time (p<0.001), and utilization of extractions (p<0.001). The chi-square test of independence found a statistically significant association between Angle classification and use of aligners (p=0.019). The aligner group had a higher percentage of Class I malocclusions compared to the bracket group. The bracket group had a higher percentage of patients with Class II and Class III malocclusions compared to the bracket group. The chi-squared test for association of aligners over the years concluded that there was no statistically significant annual trend (p=0.5002).
Conclusions: The aligner group had a higher average age, shorter estimated treatment time, lower DI score, and fewer extractions than the bracket group. The aligner group had a greater percentage of Class I malocclusions compared to the bracket group. There was no difference in the annual percent of patients in brackets vs aligners, including the COVID-19 pandemic time period.
Description
Citation
Citation to related work
Has part
ADA compliance
For Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) accommodation, including help with reading this content, please contact scholarshare@temple.edu