Professional perceptions of the benefits of orthodontic treatment

The aim of this study was to assess general dental practitioners' and ortho dontists' perceptions of the benefits of orthodontic treatment. A specially designed questionnaire was sent to a random sample of 150 general dental p ractitioners (GDPs) and all orthodontists in Northern Ireland (excluding ho spital practitioners) with a postgraduate qualification (n = 29). There was a 93 per cent response rate by the general dental practitioners and all bu t one specialist practitioner returned the questionnaire. The questionnaire comprised 14 visual analogue scales (VAS) whereby partici pants were asked to rate the importance of various possible dental health a nd psychosocial benefits of orthodontic treatment. In addition to the VAS, the influence of dentist variables such as number of years since qualificat ion, orthodontic cases completed, referral rates and attendance at postgrad uate lectures were examined. When ratings on the 14 dental health and psychosocial scales were examined overall, GDPs rated an improvement in self-esteem while orthodontists consi dered an improvement in physical attractiveness as the most important benef it of orthodontic treatment. Even though psychosocial variables received the highest ratings, examinatio n of the mean ratings land 95 per cent confidence intervals) revealed that some dental health factors were also rated highly by both groups. While the results do indicate an encouraging awareness of the psychosocial benefits of orthodontic treatment, they also suggest that both GDPs and orthodontist s have an unrealistic expectation of the dental health gain likely to resul t from orthodontic treatment.