Are orthodontic decisions consistent?

Introduction This systematic review and meta-analysis was conducted to analyse published literature related to clinical decisions made by practising orthodontists.Methods A modified approach for reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses was adopted for this review. A total of 20 articles were identified containing 53 datasets related to clinical decisions, such as treatment needs, extractions, surgery, or specific approaches. Once the random effect models were prepared, meta-regression was utilised to study the distribution, prevalence and professional experience.Results In total, 25% variance was observed between orthodontists and 33% among orthodontists using identical records to make the same treatment decisions. It was also observed that raters were more in agreement on the presence of certain conditions rather than their absence. Orthodontic residents were found to be more consistent in their decision-making process when compared to students or orthodontists.Conclusion It was observed from the findings of this study that there was low consistency in the clinical decisions being made by orthodontists using common records. One of the reasons that could be responsible for this finding was the presence of established mental frameworks among orthodontists.