The provision and outcome of orthodontic services in a Norwegian community: a longitudinal cohort study

In a systematic child dental care system, professionals, consumers, and pur chasers have a common interest in ensuring that provision and outcome of or thodontic care fulfill the goals of the service and the public's expectatio ns. The purpose of this prospective study was to examine whether treatment was in fact provided to children with a normative treatment need, and also to assess the outcome of treatment. The baseline data were established for a sample of 83 11-year-olds before decisions about orthodontic treatment ha d been made, by recording the individuals' orthodontic concern as reported in questionnaires and their occlusal condition according to an index of ort hodontic treatment need (NOTI). At re-examination at the age of 16 years, i t was also recorded whether the individual had received orthodontic treatme nt. Most individuals (83%) with a normative need had been heated as well as some individuals without need but who had expressed orthodontic concern. T reatment had resulted in occlusal improvement ('health gain') in most patie nts, and generally this improvement paralleled a decrease in concern. The g oals of the orthodontic service seem to have been fulfilled to the extent t hat residual treatment need was infrequent. The high treatment rate (63%) a nd standard may explain why all individuals, both treated and untreated, ex pressed satisfaction with their dental appearance at 16 years of age.