title: Consistency of patient classification in orthodontic diagnosis and treatment planning.
abstract: The purpose of this study was to examine diagnosis and treatment planning categorizations used by experienced orthodontists. Thirty-nine clinicians were asked to evaluate six test cases and formulate a diagnosis and treatment plan for each. The information provided was categorized using a problem-oriented classification. The results indicate little agreement exists in diagnostic subcategories, such as molar relationship, degree of crowding, or the nature of skeletal discrepancies. There was also little agreement regarding some treatment strategies, such as extraction of teeth, the use of orthopedic appliances, or the use of surgery. A need exists for better definitions of diagnostic criteria and appropriate treatment options.
authors.affiliation: UCLA School of Dentistry, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1668, USA. larryl@dent.ucla.edu
authors.forename: L S
authors.initials: LS
authors.lastname: Luke
authors.forename: K A
authors.initials: KA
authors.lastname: Atchison
authors.forename: S C
authors.initials: SC
authors.lastname: White
mesh_terms: D003657:Decision Making; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008310:Malocclusion / Q000145:classification / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000628:therapy; D009967:Orthodontic Appliances / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D009971:Orthodontics, Corrective / Q000379:methods* / Q000592:standards*; D010347:Patient Care Planning; D019239:Practice Patterns, Dentists'; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D014081:Tooth Extraction / Q000706:statistics & numerical data