Never before have there been so many different treatment choices for patients. The new publication – The BOS Guide: Orthodontics for Adults – is a first for the BOS in that it’s designed for patients to read before they see a clinician.
It’s divided into four clear sections covering all aspects of orthodontic decision making: why, how, where and who. Each section has key points or tips which guide the patient towards getting the information they need to make the right choice for them.
A video featuring Professor Tim Newton, professor of psychology as applied to dentistry, with advice on the questions to ask a clinician complements the new guide. The video, called ‘Orthodontics: making the right decision for you’, and the guide will both be available on the BOS website.
Alison Murray, president of the British Orthodontic Society, speaking at the press launch at BOS HQ, said: “We welcome the growth of interest in orthodontic treatment but we want to ensure that individuals are empowered to understand the choices they are making.
“There is extensive marketing of system based treatments and what’s happening is that people make up their mind about what they want before they get to see a dentist or orthodontist. They go into a practice and ask for a treatment which might not necessarily be in their best interests.
“There is also an issue around unmet expectations. By virtue of their design, systems designed to deliver short term results are likely to have limited objectives. Problems occur when patients have high expectations of the outcome of a treatment.
“We really want the guide to adult orthodontics to give potential patients the full picture and to highlight that orthodontic treatment can be complex. Our aim is to provide information which will help adults wanting treatment to become more discriminating customers.”
Also at the launch were Guy Deeming, chairman of the BOS Orthodontist Specialist Group, and Liz Roberts, a member of the BOS Practitioner Group as well as the BOS Publications Committee.
Guy said: “We want to send the message out to patients through social media platforms that the BOS site is here to guide them. Good communication and openness is the key to avoiding complaints.”
Liz Roberts said: “As a practitioner working historically, and still mainly with NHS child patients, I have seen personally over recent years, an exponential increase in the numbers of adults seeking orthodontic treatment and often hoping for a ‘quick fix’. The practice I work in is now continually evolving to embrace the current demand and climate of change. Regrettably, we occasionally find ourselves having to manage patients who have unrealistic expectations that they have gained from perhaps high blown advertising.”
The majority of BOS specialist practitioners treat adult patients. A survey carried out in 2013 showed that more than 80 per cent of high street specialists treat both NHS and private patients while around 10 per cent of members only treat patients privately. However, the pattern of provision in the UK is changing with more dentists offering system based orthodontic treatment.