| Popis: |
Objectives: The aim of this study was to evaluate orthodontic treatment quality, length and efficiency when two orthodontists collaborated on treatment compared to cases treated by either orthodontist. Methods: The sample consisted of 150 consecutively treated subjects gathered from three groups of patients (A, B and C), each group included 50 patients. Group A patients were treated by orthodontist A, group B by orthodontist B, and group C by both orthodontists. PAR index, ICON, ABO-DI and ABO-CRE assessed the pre- and post-treatment status. Variables including age, gender, type of malocclusion, extraction versus non-extraction, orthognathic surgery, treatment length, number of visits, frequency of missed, cancelled and emergency appointments were collected for statistical analysis. Treatment efficiency Index (TEI) was also assessed. Results: There was no statistical significant difference in the pre-treatment status, age, gender, type of malocclusion or number of extractions between the three groups. Post-treatment PAR and ICON indices showed excellent results in all three groups, with no statistical significant difference between groups. ABO-CRE was significantly higher in group C (25.3 points) than either group A (21.5 points) or group B (22.0 points) (P=0.014). Group A cases, on average, had significantly less treatment time (23 months) than either group B or C (26 months) (P=0.011). Group C patients required more appointments (27 visits) than either group A or B (23 and 25 visits, respectively). The treatment efficiency index showed no statistical significant differences between the three groups (P=0.113). Conclusions: Good outcomes were achieved in all three groups as assessed by PAR index and ICON, with no difference between providers. Cases treated by a collaboration of both orthodontists required 2 to 4 more visits and had higher ABO-CRE scores than those treated by a single orthodontist. |
