Objective: To investigate patients' expectations of lingual orthodontic treatment.
Design: In-depth interviews were conducted. A framework analysis was carried out to identify themes, concepts and a typology.
Setting: Two secondary care hospital departments and four primary care orthodontic practices, UK.
Materials and methods: Fifteen new orthodontic patients aged 16-60 years participated in the interviews. All interviews were transcribed verbatim and analysed using framework analysis, including identification of themes within the responses, and typologies of respondents.
Results: Patients seeking lingual orthodontics reported expectations that were similar in quality but different in extent to those seeking labial orthodontics. These patients were well informed about lingual orthodontic treatment before they decide to start treatment. Two typologies were identified. Firstly, males less than 30 years of age, undergoing changes in their lives, who were confident that they wanted a hidden brace, but were not entirely sure of the specifics of the system. Secondly, females aged 30-45, who request a hidden brace and had actively researched what particular systems were available.
Conclusions: This study shows that patients requesting lingual orthodontics have expectations that are similar in quality but greater in extent when compared to those seeking labial orthodontics.
Keywords: Patients’ expectations; lingual orthodontics; measure; qualitative research.