Factors Influencing the Duration of Orthodontic Treatment at the Dento-Facial Orthopedics Department of the CCTD of Casablanca: A Descriptive Cross-Sectional Study

Objective: One of the main concerns for orthodontic patients is the overall duration of treatment, as they seek to achieve both esthetic and functional outcomes in the shortest time possible. The objective of this study was to evaluate the factors that may influence the duration of orthodontic treatment at the Orthodontics Department of the CCTD in Casablanca. Materials and Methods: This descriptive cross-sectional study included 116 patient records followed by residents in the Department of Dentofacial Orthopedics at the CCTD, Ibn Rochd University Hospital of Casablanca. A standardized data collection form was used to record socio-demographic, diagnostic, and therapeutic variables. Data were entered in Excel and analyzed using SPSS software (version 20) by the Epidemiology and Biostatistics Laboratory of the Faculty of Dentistry, Hassan II University of Casablanca. Bivariate analysis (one-way ANOVA) was used to test associations between treatment duration and candidate predictor variables. A p-value < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: The mean treatment duration was 31.83 months. Patient-related factors (age, sex, socioeconomic status, oral hygiene, compliance) were associated with variations in treatment time, but none reached statistical significance. Patients with skeletal Class II malocclusion (48.3% of the sample) had the longest mean treatment duration (35.73 months), close to statistical significance (p = 0.05). Dental extractions, performed in 56% of cases, were associated with a mean prolongation of 8 months compared with non-extraction cases, a statistically significant difference (p = 0.015). Conclusion: Extraction was the only factor significantly associated with longer orthodontic treatment duration in this hospital-university population. Larger, prospective, multicenter studies that also account for operator-related factors are recommended to confirm and extend these findings.