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Professional ortho body launches treatment guide for adult patients

Alison Murray (Photograph: Daniel Zimmermann, DTI)

Wed. 11 May 2016

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LONDON, UK: Coinciding with the launch of National Smile Month next week, the British Orthodontic Society (BOS) on Tuesday publicly announced a new online resource for adults considering orthodontic treatment. Available on the BOS website, the Orthodontics for Adults: The Why, How, Where and Who guide is aimed at supporting them in their decision-making by providing information about available treatment options.

Divided into sections covering the why, how, where, who and what of treatment, the guide was compiled in response to the increasing number of system-based treatment options entering the market, President of the BOS Alison Murray said. “Orthodontic treatment can be complex,” she told reporters on Tuesday. “Therefore, it is very important for patients to ask the right questions in order to find out if the treatment is right for them.”

According to Murray, the guide is now available free on the BOS website, accompanied by a video featuring King’s College London Professor of Psychology Tim Newton advising viewers on the necessary questions to ask when talking to a clinician. Like other content on the website, it will be updated regularly.

While still more than 80 per cent of high-street specialists treat private and NHS patients, according to the latest surveys, the pattern of provision in orthodontics is changing with the onset of new treatment options like dental aligners. Owing to this shift, more patients are deciding on a specific treatment even before consulting a dentist or orthodontist, Murray said.

“Problems can occur when patients have high expectations of the outcomes of treatment. We really want the guide to adult orthodontics to give potential patients the full picture,” she added.

According to different reports, the market for dental aligners is expected to grow between 12 and 15 per cent within the next five years, surpassing the fixed braces segment by almost 200 per cent.

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