Relationships among satisfaction, treatment motivation, and expectations in orthodontic patients: a prospective cohort study

Figures & data

Table 1 Questionnaire concerning treatment motivation and expectations assessed on a visual analog scale prior to treatment start

Variables	Mean	Standard deviation
Treatment motivation
1. Do your teeth bother you?	35.6	15.2
2. If it were possible, how much would you like to change the appearance of your teeth?	82.5	8.9
3. Do you think your teeth need straightening?	80.1	7.9
4. How motivated are you to have orthodontic treatment with braces?	76.8	8.6
5. Do you think orthodontic treatment will be good for your teeth?	90.1	5.6
6. Have you been properly informed about the orthodontic treatment?	93.8	5.1
7. Is it your own decision to undergo orthodontic treatment?	84.5	6.7
Treatment expectations
8. Do you think it is going to be difficult to wear braces?	35.4	10.3
9. Are you worried about having orthodontic treatment?	20.3	15.5
10. Are you worried about how you are going to look with braces on?	25.6	16.2
11. Have you ever been teased about the appearance of your teeth?	2.5	2.3

Table 2 Questionnaire concerning treatment-outcome satisfaction assessed on a visual analog scale at the retention phase

Variables	Mean	Standard deviation
Treatment-outcome satisfaction
1. Considering everything, are you satisfied with your orthodontic treatment?	91.6	7.5
2. Are you satisfied with the changes made during treatment?	95.2	4.6
3. Are you satisfied with the appearance of your teeth after treatment?	94.8	3.7

Table 3 Correlations among treatment-outcome satisfaction, motivation, and expectations prior to treatment

Variables	Treatment-outcome satisfaction
	Considering everything, are you satisfied with your orthodontic treatment?		Are you satisfied with the changes made during treatment?		Are you satisfied with the appearance of your teeth after treatment?
	r	P-value	r	P-value	r	P-value
Treatment motivation
1. Do your teeth bother you?	−0.128	0.534	−0.128	0.548	−0.121	0.459
2. If it were possible, how much would you like to change the appearance of your teeth?	0.4	0.001**	0.348	0.001**	0.234	0.354
3. Do you think your teeth need straightening?	0.312	0.001**	0.234	0.014*	0.234	0.189
4. How motivated are you to have orthodontic treatment with braces?	0.33	0.035*	0.087	0.345	0.213	0.035*
5. Do you think orthodontic treatment will be good for your teeth?	0.152	0.001**	0.324	0.024*	0.124	0.034*
6. Have you been properly informed about the orthodontic treatment?	0.104	0.016*	0.124	0.043*	0.245	0.075
7. Is it your own decision to undergo orthodontic treatment?	0.045	0.075	0.155	0.216	−0.125	0.077
Treatment expectations
8. Do you think it is going to be difficult to wear braces?	0.148	0.426	−0.157	0.46	−0.124	0.357
9. Are you worried about having orthodontic treatment?	0.124	0.075	−0.124	0.235	−0.128	0.214
10. Are you worried about how you are going to look with braces on?	0.342	0.421	−0.167	0.405	−0.152	0.324
11. Have you ever been teased about the appearance of your teeth?	−0.124	0.325	−0.126	0.254	−0.125	0.124

Notes:

* P<0.05;

** P<0.01.

Table 4 Results of multiple regression analysis for the treatment motivation and expectation of impacts (treatment satisfaction)

Independent variables	Multivariate linear regression
	β-Coefficient	95% CI	P-value
Treatment motivation
1. Do your teeth bother you?	−0.264	−0.456 to 2.314	0.001**
2. If it were possible, how much would you like to change the appearance of your teeth?	0.364	0.021–0.652	0.001**
3. Do you think your teeth need straightening?	0.354	0.452–0.869	0.232
4. How motivated are you to have orthodontic treatment with braces?	0.263	0.124–0.961	0.026*
5. Do you think orthodontic treatment will be good for your teeth?	0.264	0.123–0.687	0.001**
6. Have you been properly informed about the orthodontic treatment?	0.125	0.120–0.872	0.012*
7. Is it your own decision to undergo orthodontic treatment?	0.102	0.234–0.854	0.354
Treatment expectations
8. Do you think it is going to be difficult to wear braces?	0.263	0.287–1.002	0.652
9. Are you worried about having orthodontic treatment?	0.314	0.412–1.213	0.254
10. Are you worried about how you are going to look with braces on?	0.231	0.425–1.254	0.326
11. Have you ever been teased about the appearance of your teeth?	−0.126	−0.024 to 0.524	0.124

Notes:

* P<0.05;

** P<0.01.

Abbreviation: CI, confidence interval.