Discontinued orthodontic treatment in the general dental service and community dental service in England and Wales during the summer of 1991

Abstract

This paper reports on two studies which investigated levels of discontinued orthodontic treatment amongst patients under IS years, who had been treated in the General Dental Service (GDS) and Community Dental Service (CDS) of the National Health Service during June and July 1991. These complement the study of discontinued Hospital Dented Service treatment already reported. The studies indicated that, at the time, the levels were 13·1 per cent in the GDS and 12·5 per cent in the CDS. The figure for the GDS was much lower than that of 20 per cent reported in the Sehansehieff Report. There was little difference in the levels of discontinued treatment between those working in the GDS with an orthodontic qualification (12·1 per cent) and those without (13·5 per cent).

The results suggest that the levels for discontinued orthodontic treatment in those aged under 18 years of age may be lower than previously reported.

Index words:

• Discontinuation of Treatment