Demand and referral pattern for orthodontic care at University College Hospital, Ibadan, Nigeria.

Objective: To assess the demand and pattern of referral for orthodontic services at University College Hospital, Ibadan, Nigeria.
Design: A 21-month prospective clinic-based study of consecutive orthodontic patients.
Setting and Sample Population: The orthodontic clinic of University College Hospital, Ibadan, Nigeria. One hundred and seventy-eight (178) consecutive patients, consisting of 79 (44.4%) males and 99 (55.6%) females with mean age of 16.21+/-7.81 years were studied.
Results: 80% of subjects were 20 years of age or younger, while less than 2% were over 40 years of age. More females sought orthodontic care than males. Over 43% of the patients needed removable orthodontic appliances while close to 17% required treatment with fixed appliances. Extractions of retained primary teeth and other grossly malpositioned teeth accounted for 9.6% while 24.7% needed observation of occlusal developments before any treatment decisions could be made. Dentists were noted to be the main referrers of these patients, accounting for over 49% of the referrals, followed by 25.4% who were self referred, and 18.3% who attended under parental influence.
Conclusion: More girls than boys demanded orthodontic care and dentists were the major referrers of orthodontic patients.