'What has been your experience of providing short-term orthodontics?'--A pilot survey of GDPs in East Sussex.

Short-term orthodontics (STO) aims to enhance a patient's smile by aligning their anterior teeth. It is considered a quicker alternative to conventional orthodontics and less destructive than veneers. As such, it has recently gained much popularity in cosmetic dentistry worldwide. STO is provided almost exclusively by general dental practitioners (GDPs), however, the current literature on this subject focuses largely on the opinions of orthodontists and cosmetic dentists, respectively. The aim of this paper, on the other hand, is to examine the opinions of GDPs and what experience they have had of providing STO. It concludes that GDPs performing STO in East Sussex have expressed a wish to receive more teaching and support from their local orthodontists. It also suggests a need for orthodontic professional bodies to issue guidelines on case selection for STO in order to assist GDPs in recognising which malocclusions are beyond their scope of practice.