Orthodontic treatment in National Dental Centre of Singapore: Trends toward higher proportion of adult patients

Background: Adult patients used to be daunted with the prospect of having fixed appliances to correct malocclusions. However, this has gradually changed and recent literature reported an increasing trend in adults receiving orthodontic treatment. To date, there has been no information regarding the trend of adult orthodontic patients in Singapore. Objective: The objective of this study was to determine the changes in the proportion of adult patients seeking orthodontic treatment at the National Dental Centre Singapore (NDCS) from 2011 to 2017. Materials and Methods: The study sample consists of all patients who commenced active orthodontic treatment from 2011 to 2017 at the NDCS. The data collected were analyzed for the number, gender, and proportion of adult orthodontic patients treated annually from 2011 to 2017. Linear-by-linear association test was used to test for any significant linear trend in proportion of adult orthodontic patients over the 7 years. Pearson's Chi-squared test was used to test for any significant gender differences. Results: There was a significant increasing linear trend (p = 0.001) in the proportion of adult orthodontic patients from 2011 to 2017. No significant difference (p = 0.770) between the proportions of male and female adults undergoing orthodontic treatment was found. The ages of adults undergoing orthodontic treatment ranged from 21 to 73 years old and majority (48.61%) of them was in the 21-25 years old age range. Conclusion: There is a rising trend in adults seeking orthodontic treatment at the NDCS from 2011 to 2017. No statistically significant gender difference was observed in this rising trend.