Pilot study of an orthodontic treatment need learning package for general dental practitioners

This pilot study evaluated an Index of Orthodontic Treatment Need Learning Package which was developed for use by general dental practitioners. Fifty-seven dentists participated in a randomised controlled trial which involved assessing the need for orthodontic treatment among two representative samples of 16 study casts. All the dentists assessed the first set of study casts without any aids or assistance. During the assessment of the second set of study casts one group of dentists used an IOTN Learning Package in the form of a poster, another group used an IOTN Learning Package in the form of a booklet, and the remaining group acted as a control and did not use any Learning Package. The results reveal that compared with the control dentists, the dentists using the IOTN poster and the IOTN booklet had, respectively, 1.8 and 2.6 fewer errors when assessing aesthetic need and 2.0 and 2.1 fewer errors when assessing dental health need.