Quality control in the orthodontic department of a Tertiary Military Dental Centre: A decade clinical audit

Abstract

BackgroundThe objective of the study was to analyze the quality control of the treatment within the orthodontic department by determining the workload, type of treatment, and quality of outcome. MethodTwo hundred eighty patients were selected from departmental archives, who underwent orthodontic treatment since January 2010 and assessed using index of complexity, outcome and treatment need. Descriptive statistics was performed by SPSS, version 21 (IBM, USA). Mann–Whitney U test was applied to assess the difference between complexity and improvement grade. ResultOrthodontic treatment was provided to 56.43% of female and 43.57% male patients with a mean age of 16.91 years. Angle's class I type malocclusion was the highest with 35.71%. Preadjusted edgewise metal appliance with 95% dominated the mechanics. About 12.14% and 3.57% patients got benefited with myofunctional and orthopedic treatment, respectively. Ten percent of patients were treated with orthognathic surgery. The mean duration of treatment was 31.19 months with a range of minimum of 17 months to a maximum of 46 months. Among 87.14% patients treated by faculty, 47.95% had difficult complexity grading and 22.95% had very difficult complexity grading. Residents had provided treatment with 63.88% difficult and 19.44% very difficult grade. Mann–Whitney U test of overall complexity and improvement grade showed Z score of −9.25715 which was highly significant. ConclusionThe present study concludes that fair quality control is being maintained by the department considering the number of patients, its severity, and excellent outcomes. However, being the premier institute of Indian Armed Forces, regular clinical audit should be conducted to fulfill demand and supply ratio in appropriation.