Saturdays Orthodontic Appointments, Demand, and Patients' Commitment.

AIM: The purpose of this study was to determine the demand for orthodontic appointments on weekends and the level of commitment the patients have for those appointments. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A survey of 17 questions was created and given to 199 adult patients. The first six questions addressed demographic information, followed by three questions addressing whether coming to their orthodontic appointments required taking time off of work. The remaining questions asked if they would prefer to attend orthodontic appointments on Saturday if they would take advantage of a Saturday appointment, and what their preferred time and level of commitment would be for this appointment. The data were analyzed using the logistic-regression Chi-square test. RESULTS: About 77.4% of the participants indicated that they would take advantage of appointments on Saturdays if available. The most preferred time for Saturday appointments was 7:00 am-10:00 am, followed by 10:00 am-12:00 pm. About 60.6% of the participants reported that they would be willing to sign up for AutoPay in order to be seen on Saturday. Among those who would take advantage of weekend appointments, 82.6% reported that they would likely never miss or reschedule a Saturday appointment, and 75.3% would choose an orthodontist who is open on Saturday over another orthodontist who is not. Among participants who work more than 40 hours per week, 86.1% (106) wanted to take advantage of Saturday appointments. Participants with a high household income are less inclined to take advantage of Saturday appointments compared with those with a low household income. Participants who need to take time off of work are more inclined to take advantage of Saturday appointments [93% (106) favorable vs 7% (8) unfavorable]. Participants who need to take their child out of school early for their orthodontic appointments during the week are more inclined to take advantage of Saturday appointments [87% (97) favorable vs 13% (15) unfavorable] than those who do not need to. CONCLUSION: There is a demand for Saturday orthodontic appointments with a very high commitment level among the majority of those patients. The Saturday demographic tends to be participants with a low household income who work 40 or more hours per week. CLINICAL SIGNIFICANCE: Orthodontic offices may consider working at least one Saturday per month to satisfy patient needs. They can use this survey to explore their own market for Saturday clinical practice.

Direct to consumer orthodontics: Exploring patient demographic trends and preferences.

INTRODUCTION: This study aimed to evaluate market trends on the demographics most likely to select direct to consumer orthodontics and the reasoning behind their decisions. METHODS: An internet-based cross-sectional survey was conducted. Data analysis was carried out using logistic regression models. RESULTS: Total of 1573 surveys were completed. While 32.2% of those surveyed selected direct to consumer orthodontics over conventional orthodontics, 10.8% would select direct to consumer orthodontics for their children. Among parents who would seek direct to consumer orthodontics, only 27.8% would consider the same treatment for their children. The odds of seeking direct to consumer orthodontic treatment for divorced participants was 2.52 times higher than that for single participants, for participants with 4 children or more was 2 times higher than that for participant with no children, and in age group 46-59 years was 2.23 times higher than that for age group 18-26 years. Seventy three percent of consumers who selected direct to consumer orthodontics selected cost as an influencing factor. Convenience was also a major determining factor at 69.6%. CONCLUSIONS: Cost, convenience, and perceived simplicity all appear to factor into a consumer's consideration of direct to consumer orthodontics. As annual household income, age, and education increases consumers are more likely to consider direct to consumer orthodontic treatment.

Correlation between adolescent orthodontic quality of life and ABO Discrepancy Index in an orthodontic treatment-seeking population: A cross-sectional study.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the association between adolescents' orthodontic quality of life before initiating orthodontic treatment and their objective case complexity as measured by the American Board of Orthodontics' Discrepancy Index (DI). DESIGN AND SETTING: A single-centre, cross-sectional survey study. METHODS: The Orthodontic Quality of Life Assessment Survey (OQoLAS) was administered to 240 adolescents (aged 11-14 years) during their record-gathering appointment. After completion of the survey, a DI score was calculated for each patient based on pretreatment measurements. Pearson correlation coefficients, r, were used to assess the association of DI scores with OQoLAS total and subdomain scores. A multiple linear regression of OQoLAS total scores adjusting for age, gender and DI scores was conducted. RESULTS: The study did not find a strong correlation between OQoLAS and DI scores (r = 0.10; P = 0.6497). On average, the OQoLAS scores (functional, emotional and social subdomains of OQoLAS) were slightly higher among girls than among boys but there was no statistical difference for total OQoLAS score between boys and girls (42.4 vs. 45.4, P = 0.2005). However, there was a significant difference in oral health perception rating between boys and girls, with girls being more likely to rate their oral health positively (adjusted P = 0.0226). The total DI scores of boys with respect to girls were not statistically different (P = 0.4256). The components of the DI that showed highest score were for cephalometric measures, followed by overjet; and the lowest scores were for lateral open bite and buccal posterior crossbite. The measure of association analysis did not show any strong correlation between the OQoLAS (total score and subdomain scores), and DI score or any of its components. CONCLUSION: Malocclusion severity was not found to be correlated with orthodontic quality of life in adolescents aged 11-14 years seeking orthodontic treatment.

Randomized Crossover Trial Evaluating the Impact of Senofilcon A Photochromic Lens on Driving Performance.

SIGNIFICANCE: The first contact lens to incorporate a photochromic additive was cleared by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration last year. Because any ophthalmic lens that absorbs visible wavelengths will reduce retinal illuminance, it is important to understand the impact of this new photochromic contact lens on vision and both daytime and nighttime driving performance. PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of senofilcon A photochromic contact lens wear on vision and driving performance under real-world conditions by comparison with a nonphotochromic contact lens and plano photochromic spectacles. METHODS: In this randomized four-visit bilateral crossover study, 24 licensed regular drivers and established wearers of soft contact lenses were enrolled. Subjects wore in random order each of three study lens types: the investigational photochromic soft contact lens (test), a nonphotochromic soft contact lens (control 1), and plano photochromic spectacle lenses (control 2). Driver performance was assessed on a closed-circuit driving track under challenging controlled conditions. The primary endpoint was overall driving performance score calculated as a composite Z score of six objective metrics. RESULTS: All 24 subjects (mean age, 29.8 years) completed the study. For nighttime driving, the adjusted mean differences in Z score (95% confidence interval) between test and control 1 and between test and control 2 were 0.069 (-0.045 to +0.183) and 0.117 (0.003 to 0.231), respectively. For daytime driving, mean differences were 0.101 (-0.013 to +0.216) between test and control 1 and 0.044 (-0.070 to +0.158) between test and control 2. Results demonstrated noninferiority of the test lens relative to controls for nighttime and daytime driving performance using a noninferiority margin of -0.25 Z score. Noninferiority was also demonstrated on all logMAR and contrast threshold testing. No adverse events were reported during the study. CONCLUSIONS: Study results revealed no evidence of concerns with either driving performance or vision while wearing photochromic contact lenses.

Direct-to-consumer orthodontics: Exploring laypeople's perception of orthodontic treatment complexity.

BACKGROUND: The authors aimed to explore the treatment preferences of laypeople regarding direct-to-consumer (DTC) orthodontics and to identify whether case complexity, as perceived by laypeople, is one of the factors influencing interest in DTC orthodontics. METHODS: An online cross-sectional survey was conducted. Data analysis was performed using logistic regression models. RESULTS: A total of 1,362 surveys were completed. A significant inverse association was identified between the complexity of an orthodontic case, as measured using the American Board of Orthodontics' discrepancy index (DI) score, and the likelihood of choosing DTC treatment over an orthodontist. Participants were 3.53 times more likely to choose DTC treatment for a mild case (DI score, 0-10) compared with a complex case (DI score, > 20), although the likelihood of choosing DTC treatment for a moderate case (DI score, 11-20) was only 1.79 times higher than for a complex case. CONCLUSIONS: When laypeople were asked to consider each case as if it were their own dentition, there was a significant inverse association between the complexity of an orthodontic case, as measured using the DI score, and the likelihood of choosing DTC treatment over an orthodontist. Laypeople were seemingly more likely to choose DTC orthodontics for dentitions that did not appear crowded and were well aligned within the arches. Laypeople seemed to have an understanding that there are some limitations to DTC orthodontics. PRACTICAL IMPLICATIONS: Orthodontists should better understand the factors influencing consumers' decisions to select DTC orthodontics and dental organizations should focus their educational campaigns on these factors.