The provision of orthodontic services by general dental practitioners. 2. Factors influencing variation in service provision

Previous work has shown that variations exist amongst general dental practitioners in the volume and type of orthodontic services provided, the type of orthodontic appliances used, and the objectives of the orthodontic treatment. The aims of this survey were to identify practitioner characteristics that account for variations in the level of orthodontic services provided and which distinguish providers and non-providers of orthodontic services. Multiple regression analysis revealed that four practitioner characteristics explained 41 per cent of the variance in the number of orthodontic patients treated. Dentists who treated more orthodontic patients: 1) treated more general practice patients; 2) frequently used multiple sources to keep up to date in orthodontics; 3) perceived their patient base to contain more children; and 4) were likely to have attended a Truitt course. Eleven variables best distinguished providers from non-providers of orthodontic treatment; 1, 2 and 3 above had the highest correlation with the discriminant function. The Null Hypothesis that selected characteristics of dentists providing orthodontic services were no different from those of dentists not providing orthodontic services was rejected. The provision of orthodontic services was associated with a higher level of continuing orthodontic education as well as treating more general practice patients, especially children.