Orthodontists' opinions of factors affecting patients' choice of orthodontic practices

Subjective appraisal of patients' opinions of factors affecting their choice for an orthodontic practice

“…Also, it has been reported that girls seek orthodontic treatment more than boys (11) and that females are more dissatisfied with the appearance of their dentition more than males (12) . This is different from previous studies where patients reported that the doctor's caring attitude was important to them and affected their choice (2,3,4) .…”

“…The variability of the society and their demands from one area to another when offered the choice of choosing the orthodontic practice entitled the importance of the clinic's environment as a factor affecting the opinion of the patients. This was different when compared to the factors that orthodontists thought they affect the patients' choice in another study (3) . The personal characteristics of the doctor and the staff were the most Volume 51 -June 2017 important factors found.…”

“…Patients reported back that to choose their orthodontist, they had to visit only one practitioner 59%, some 25% visited two orthodontits and only16% mentioned that have visited three or more offices (2) . This suggests that patients are very concerened about receiving a very refined service.They reported that their final selection of an orthodontic practice office was based mainly on caring attitude of the orthodontist 53%, good reputation 49% and convenient office location 38% (2) A prospective study (3) was carried out, where orthodontists were asked to answer questions as their prospective patients would. There were two sets of questions, one for the prospective adult patients and the other for the parents of prospective adolescent patients.…”

“…Retrospective studies (2,3,5) carried out to measure patient preferences were generally conducted on patients who were already under or concluded their treatment. They are subject to memory bias and that's why gathering information while taking the decision strengthened our study and the conclusion accordingly (6) .…”

A survey of the status of orthodontics among organizations within the World Federation of Orthodontists

“…The survey results also created an appreciation and awareness of the differences and similarities of how the specialty is taught and practiced worldwide. If the purpose of the WFO was to indeed "advance the art and science of orthodontics throughout the world," an understanding of its current status was a necessary first step to achieve progress and harmonization (5).…”