Outcome of a scheme for specialist orthodontic care.

With the purpose of examining the outcome of specialist orthodontic care on a population level (Halland, Sweden), a random sample of previously treated 19-year-olds (n=118) was clinically examined and interviewed. Thirty-three per cent of the cohort (n=1554) had received treatment, and mean treatment time was 19 months requiring 20 visits. Changes in occlusion were assessed using the PAR Index applied to dental study casts representing the pre- and post-treatment and follow-up (19 years) condition. The subjects' responses to questions addressing their past and present attitudes to dental appearance and orthodontic treatment were combined to represent "orthodontic concern", at the pre-treatment stage and at 19 years of age. A mean reduction in weighted PAR scores of 83% was observed from pre-treatment to post-treatment, whereas at follow-up, the net improvement was 69%. A significant shift in attitudes was observed, as 72% of the individuals expressed orthodontic concern pre-treatment compared to less than 10% at 19 years. The improvement obtained was similar to other studies on outcome of orthodontic treatment provided by specialist orthodontists. Compared to most PAR-studies providing information about orthodontic services, the present scheme appeared to be efficient on the assumption that duration of treatment and number of visits are expressions of costs.