Orthodontic treatment needs assessment of 14- to 18-year-old students in Shiraz, Iran.

Aim: Orthodontic need assessment is instrumental for dental treatment planning. The objective of this examination was to evaluate the orthodontic treatment need of students in Shiraz, Iran, using the Dental Aesthetic Index (DAI) and to assess the relationship between DAI and sociodemographic variables.

Methods: Using random cluster sampling, 1,818 pupils (965 male and 853 female) 14 to 18 years of age without any history of orthodontic treatment were selected.