Treatment complexity index for assessing the relationship of treatment duration and outcomes in a graduate orthodontics clinic.

Introduction: Clinical cases completed by the Indiana University School of Dentistry (IUSD) graduating orthodontic classes of 2004, 2005, and 2006 were assessed to determine factors that affect orthodontic treatment duration.

Methods: The sample consisted of 455 consecutively finished patients who received comprehensive treatment in the full permanent dentition. They included optimally finished and prematurely terminated (early debond) patients.