The prediction of patient co-operation in orthodontic treatment

Patient co-operation during orthodontic treatment is a problematical factor which may have a major influence upon the success of treatment. A longitudinal, multidisciplinary investigation of 1,018 children has provided the opportunity to study the relationship between pre-treatment socio-psychological assessment of 219 of those children and their compliance during subsequent orthodontic treatment. There were 147 variables for analysis, of which only 10 showed statistically significant differences between the groups of best and poorest cooperators. The shortcomings of retrospective studies are discussed and improvements for future studies in this field are suggested.