A comparison of information retention at an initial orthodontic consultation

The exchange of information is an everyday part of orthodontic treatment. H owever, the amount of information that is understood and retained, by patie nts and their parents, is not known. There has been very little research in the area of information retention in dentistry. This has implications with the demands for improved provision of information for patients. This questionnaire-based study, compared the effectiveness of written, verb al, and visual methods of providing orthodontic information. it assessed th e retention of this information, by patients and parents, in both the short - and long-term. Twenty-eight patients and their parents, were allocated al ternately into one of three groups, receiving written, verbal, or visual in formation. Short-term retention of knowledge was assessed 10-15 minutes aft er receiving the information and long-term retention rated by a second ques tionnaire mailed 8 weeks later. Overall, little difference was found between the three methods. The finding s suggested that verbal information should not be given to patients unless supplemented by written and/or visual information, and that parents were mo re attentive to verbal instructions than their children.