Health gain in orthodontics: a comparison of the general dental services and the hospital service in England and Wales

Abstract

The aim of this paper was to assess the health gain in orthodontics achieved by practitioners in the General Dental Service (GDS) and Hospital Dental Service (HDS) and the relative probabilities in achieving health gain in relation to the presenting occlusal trait. In a sample of 1225 patients in the GDS in England and Wales and 1365 cases in the HDS different levels of health gain were found. Occlusal traits are most likely to be treated more successfully in the HDS. Seven out of every ten patients in the HDS were likely to achieve health gain as opposed to four out of every ten patients in the GDS.