title: Perceptions of orthodontic treatment need: Receiver Operating Characteristic analysis.
abstract: This study aimed to investigate the variations in dentists' perception of need for orthodontic treatment. Sixteen dentists viewed forty clinical vignettes and recorded their decisions according to the certainty with which they would offer treatment for each case. Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) analysis was performed on this data, using the Index of Orthodontic Treatment Need (IOTN) as the "gold standard'. The data suggest that dentists treatment decisions do not concur with current guidelines in use in the UK.
authors.affiliation: Department of Dental Medicine and Surgery, University of Manchester Dental Hospital, England.
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Bearn
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wright
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Kay
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: O'Brien
mesh_terms: D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D003657:Decision Making; D003815:Dentists / Q000523:psychology*; D006801:Humans; D008310:Malocclusion / Q000175:diagnosis*; D009971:Orthodontics, Corrective / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D019239:Practice Patterns, Dentists' / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D012372:ROC Curve