Orthodontic consultations: medical and social aspects

Abstract

The study's goal is to investigate the reasons why patients seek the services of an orthodontic dentist. The outpatient records of a dental patient from one municipal state budgetary institution of health care in St. Petersburg, as well as three private dental clinics in St. Petersburg and the Leningrad Region, Russia, were used in the study. 667 primary medical records were examined in total. The primary medical records were analyzed to determine the reasons that prompted the patients or their parents (legal representatives) to seek consultation with an orthodontic dentist. All consultation reasons were conditionally classified as "medical" or "medical and social. " We discovered that consultative work consumes the majority of orthodontic dentists' working time, with 9.7% of visits referring to consultative work. Patients are interested in social, legal, and economic issues during consultations in addition to medical issues. Patients were interested in detailed information about the most "effective" and aesthetic braces (20.5% of consultations), as well as the need to consult with an independent orthodontist about indications for removal of intact teeth for further orthodontic treatment (32.5%). Patients were concerned about the comparative cost and "effectiveness" of various bracket systems (9.5% of consultations), as well as whether fitting a bracket system would affect conscription into the Armed Forces (2% of consultations). The percentage of patients who attended a consultation to invite a dentist or orthodontist to participate in an independent medical examination for a trial (0.3% of consultations) is notable, confirming the appearance of frequent complaints, claims, and lawsuits about the effectiveness and quality of orthodontic treatment.