What factors might affect the success of fixed appliance therapy in adolescent patients? part 1

The success of orthodontic treatment can be judged in a number of ways, two of which are treatment efficiency and occlusal outcome. Treatment efficiency can be measured in terms of length of treatment and number of visits, whilst occlusal outcomes can be both dynamic and static. The factors that affect success can be considered under three headings, namely patient factors, operator factors and appliance factors. This article will consider outcome and the patient factors which might affect treatment success in our adolescent patients, whilst Part 2 will consider operator and appliance factors. Clinical Relevance: The conversational model of consent requires that clinicians disclose all of the appropriate information to patients prior to them making the decision whether to accept or decline treatment.1 Understanding factors that could affect the outcome with respect to both treatment efficiency and occlusal result will therefore help inform this consent process.