Parents' perceptions of outcomes of orthodontic treatment in adolescent patients: a qualitative study

Recent years have seen increased research investigating treatment outcomes from a patient perspective. However, parental perceptions are also important, as parents provide useful feedback. There is general acceptance that patients, and their parents, seek treatment for reasons including improvements in aesthetics, function, and quality of life. However, there is still little high-quality evidence regarding how these are affected by treatment. This qualitative study explored parental perceptions of treatment outcomes.

One-to-one, semi-structured, in-depth interviews were undertaken with parents of adolescent patients who had completed a course of fixed appliance treatment to ascertain how they felt about the outcomes of their child's treatment. Interviews were digitally recorded, transcribed verbatim, and analysed using thematic analysis, through a framework method approach. A number of the parents interviewed were 'paired' with the patients included in Part 1 titled "Perceptions of outcomes of orthodontic treatment in adolescent patients: a qualitative study", thus allowing paired data to be considered. Because of the qualitative nature of this study, no statistical testing was undertaken.

Twenty-two parents were interviewed. Thematic analysis identified three main themes, and associated subthemes, relating to outcomes of treatment: health-related behavioural change, dental health, and psychosocial influences. The majority of parents discussed health-related behavioural changes, suggesting potential long-term benefits of treatment.

Although the study involved a typical cohort of parents for the hospital where the study was undertaken, the results may not be generalizable to all orthodontic parents/patients.

Parents reported three key themes related to benefits of their child's orthodontic treatment and these provide valuable evidence for orthodontic treatment benefits.