An Assessment of Orthodontic Services Provided by General Dental Practitioners

Introduction: Today, general dental practitioners have extended their clinical services to areas traditionally covered by specialists even without proper education and clinical training. Even the undergraduate curriculum is inadequate to prepare students to handle full responsibility in treating orthodontic cases. A graduate program in orthodontics becomes imperative to cope with the changing needs of our society. Objectives: The aim of this study is to assess the orthodontic services provided by general dental practitioners and to identify the implications to graduate program in orthodontics. Materials and Methods: Two hundred fifty (250) general dental practitioners who are providing orthodontic treatment were randomly selected to answer survey questionnaires pertinent to orthodontic practice. Answers were then evaluated to assess the level of competency of the respondents. Results: The study revealed that the majority of the respondents were graduates of short training programs and unable to render satisfactory corrective orthodontic treatment. Conclusion: The present results imply the need to undergo a full-time postgraduate orthodontic course in order to provide quality orthodontic treatment.