Consent to orthodontic treatment - is it working?

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.