Orthodontic Treatment as a Protective Factor for Dental Caries Experience and Severity: A Population-Based Study

Table 4

Crude and adjusted logistic regression models of the association between previous orthodontic treatment and caries experience (n = 9486).

Outcome	Main predictor	Crude model	value	Adjusted model	value
		Odds ratio (95% CI)		Odds ratio (95% CI)
Any caries experience
DT > 0	Previous orthodontic treatment	0.29 (0.23–0.36)	<0.0001	0.41 (0.33–0.51)	<0.0001
	Yes vs. no (ref.)
FT > 0	Previous orthodontic treatment	2.23 (1.46–3.41)	0.0004	1.67 (1.07–2.61)	0.03
	Yes vs. no (ref.)
DFT > 0	Previous orthodontic treatment	1.03 (0.67–1.56)	0.91	0.97 (0.62–1.50)	0.87
	Yes vs. no (ref.)
Severe caries experience
DT > 2	Previous orthodontic treatment	0.25 (0.15–0.40)	<0.0001	0.36 (0.22–0.58)	<0.0001
	Yes vs. no (ref.)
FT > 11	Previous orthodontic treatment	0.78 (0.62–0.98)	0.03	0.74 (0.60–0.94)	0.01
	Yes vs. no (ref.)
DFT > 12	Previous orthodontic treatment	0.64 (0.50–0.81)	0.001	0.60 (0.50–0.77)	<0.0001
	Yes vs. no (ref.)

CI, confidence interval. Adjusted for confounding variables (age, gender, race/ethnicity, socioeconomic status, and education).