Key Points
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Patient/parent recall of facts discussed during the consent process is generally good.
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Particular emphasis should be placed on risks of orthodontic treatment at the time of consent.
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Consent should be considered an on-going process.
Abstract
Objective To determine the level of patient and/or parent recall of previous consent to orthodontic treatment.
Design Patients and/or parents of children who had been consented for orthodontic treatment were asked to complete a questionnaire on consent at least six months into their treatment.
Setting Bristol Dental Hospital.
Subjects and methods Forty-one consecutive patients and eight of their parents, with a combined age range of 12-59 years, with 61% being female and 39% male. The patients, and where applicable their parents, were identified as having previously signed a consent form at least six months previously. Each was asked to complete a questionnaire on aspects of the consent process.
Results Patients and parents demonstrated a high level of recall for the consent process concerning appliance type (89.8%), the reasons for treatment (96%), risks (75.5%), length of treatment (83.3%), the opportunity to ask questions (96%), and whether other information was provided (94%). However, further questioning on risks demonstrated poor recall for important factors such as decay (36.8%), root resorption (less than 21%), retention (56.3%) and length of retention (35%).
Conclusions Overall the consent process works well but specific areas of concern centre around the risks of orthodontic treatment.
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Acknowledgements
The authors wish to thank Dr Gordon Taylor, Senior Medical Statistician, Royal United Hospital Bath for his help with the questionnaire.
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Ernst, S., Elliot, T., Patel, A. et al. Consent to orthodontic treatment – is it working?. Br Dent J 202, E25 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1038/bdj.2007.329
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/bdj.2007.329
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