Community Dental Health

cover art

Cover Date:
September 2008
Print ISSN:
0265 539X
Vol:
25
Issue:
3

I want braces: factors motivating patients and their parents to seek orthodontic treatment.

Objective: To determine patients’ and parents’/ guardians’ motivation for orthodontic treatment. Basic Research Design: A self- completion postal questionnaire survey of new patients referred for orthodontic assessment. Clinical Setting: Kent and Canterbury Hospital (January 2003- January 2004). Participants: Five hundred patients referred from general dental practice and community dental service within East Kent. Results: Response rate was 66%. Fifty percent of the patients were between 11 and 13 years old. In 81% of cases referral was initiated by the dentist. Most of the patients (87%) were concerned with the appearance of their teeth, 38% reported teasing related to their dental appearance. Only 20% of patients thought there was nothing wrong with their teeth. Conclusions: The patients’ general dental practitioner initiated referral for orthodontic treatment in the majority of the cases. Most patients and parents appeared to be highly motivated and accepting of appliances for orthodontic treatment. Teasing was a commonly reported consequence of malocclusion with negative psychosocial impact.

Key words: Motivation, orthodontic treatment, patients, parents

Article Price
£15.00
Institution Article Price
£
Page Start
166
Page End
169
Authors
P.S. Fleming, K. Proczek, A.T. DiBiase

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  1. Editorial - Research on oral health and the quality of life – a critical overview
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  1. Comparison of two methods in deriving a short version of oral health-related quality of life measure.
  2. 132
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  1. Oral health and its impact on the life quality of homeless people in Hong Kong
  2. 137
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  1. The presenting complaints of low income adults for emergency dental care: An analysis of 35,000 episodes in Victoria, Australia.
  2. 143
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  1. International variation in the incidence of oral and pharyngeal cancer
  2. 148
  3. 153

  1. Caries prevalence in 2-year-old children in the city of Zurich
  2. 154
  3. 160

  1. Association between breastfeeding duration and non-nutritive sucking habits
  2. 161
  3. 165

  1. I want braces: factors motivating patients and their parents to seek orthodontic treatment.
  2. 166
  3. 169

  1. Cariogenic and erosive potential of the medication used by HIV-infected children: pH and sugar concentration
  2. 170
  3. 172

  1. Prevalence of breath malodour in 7-11 year old children living in Middle Anatolia, Turkey.
  2. 173
  3. 177

  1. Enamel fluorosis in 12- and 15-year-old school children in Costa Rica. Results of a National Survey, 1999
  2. 178
  3. 184

  1. Restorative treatment threshold reported by Iranian dentists
  2. 185
  3. 190

  1. Short Communication - Fissure sealants on permanent first molars – consequences of a one-year delay
  2. 191
  3. 192