Why are the Developing Malocclusion Not Referred Timely? Absence of a Guideline? A Novel Index for the Dental Frontliners

Orthodontic treatment has always been highly quested for various apposite reasons, which includes, function and aesthetics. The orthodontic treatment need will be screened by the dental frontliners, prior to booking into the orthodontic waiting list. The turnover of the waiting list may take as short as 3 to 6 months to as long as a few years, before orthodontic treatment commences. Although, there are indices available to grade the presenting malocclusion, the absence of a guideline to grade the severity of a developing malocclusion and the urgency for treatment, can overwhelm the orthodontic waiting list and eventually overshoot the ideal period of interception. The accuracy of the referral is crucial to ensure that the subsequent step taken is beneficial and timely. To address the difficulty in recognising and triaging developing malocclusion, a novel screening tool, the Index for Interceptive Orthodontics Referral was developed, to assist the dental frontliners during the routine orthodontic screening. Keywords: Dental frontliners, Developing malocclusion, Referral grading, Orthodontic referral, Index for interceptive orthodontics referral, Interceptive orthodontics