Satisfaction of parents with orthodontic treatment of children and adolescents: a cross-sectional survey.

BACKGROUND: Patient satisfaction is an important indicator of healthcare quality and a determinant of treatment success. AIMS: To assess parents'/carers' satisfaction with their children's/adolescents' orthodontic treatment and to investigate associations among study variables using a validated instrument. METHODS: A cross-sectional survey study was conducted with parents/carers of 68 children/adolescents aged 6-17 years. Satisfaction was assessed using the Questionnaire of Satisfaction with Orthodontic Treatment, comprising 25 items distributed across three subscales: treatment process, psychosocial effect of treatment and treatment outcome. Sociodemographic and clinical data were also collected. Descriptive analyses and Poisson regression models were performed, with results expressed as odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence interval (CI). RESULTS: Of the 68 parents/carers, 48 (70.6%) were male. Among the children/adolescents, 34 (50%) were male (mean age 12.84 years). Parents/carers from households with four or more individuals had significantly lower satisfaction scores on the treatment process subscale than those from households with three or fewer individuals (OR = 0.93; 95% CI = 0.83-0.98; P = 0.016). Parents/carers of children/adolescents who had undergone corrective treatment had significantly higher scores on the psychosocial effect subscale (OR = 1.10; 95% CI = 1.01-1.21; P = 0.023), treatment outcome subscale (OR = 1.07; 95% CI = 1.01-1.14; P = 0.016) and total score (OR = 1.06; 95% CI = 1.01-1.13; P = 0.032) than those whose children/adolescents had received interceptive/corrective treatment. Parents/carers of children/adolescents with more severe malocclusion reported significantly higher satisfaction scores than those with less severe malocclusion (OR = 1.02; 95% CI = 1.01-1.03; P = 0.010). CONCLUSIONS: Family size, type of orthodontic treatment and malocclusion severity were associated with parents'/carers' satisfaction with their children's/adolescents' orthodontic treatment.