Orthodontic Treatment Need and the Dental Aesthetic Index

Abstract

The Dental Aesthetic (DAI) was devised as a measure of dental appearance and based on lay opinions as opposed to professional assessments of need. The DAI is calculated from the weighted scores of ten occlusal variables. These same variables have been used in other malocclusion indices intended to measure morphological deviations from normality. It is, therefore, important to ask if the DAI might be used to screen both deviations of dental appearance and deviations of occlusion from accepted norms.