Evaluation of treatment outcomes in the graduate orthodontic clinic at Sefako Makgatho University using the American board of orthodontics cast and radiographic examination

Abstract

Introduction: Assessment of treatment outcomes is an important component of orthodontics. There are no clearly defined standardised criteria for the assessment of treatment outcomes in orthodontics in South Africa. Objective: This study serves as an audit for the assessment of treatment results by postgraduate orthodontic students at Sefako Makgatho Health Sciences University (SMU). Methodology: As a retrospective, descriptive, cross sectional study, all available post-treatment records of patients managed by registrars between 1 January 2011 and 31 December 2015 at SMU were graded using the American Board of Orthodontics (ABO) Cast and Radiographic Examination (CRE). Results: Forty nine cases met the inclusion criteria. The average CRE score was below the acceptable range for ABO CRE with a median of 43. The Fishers exact test showed significant differences amongst the CRE scores of the registrars (p=0.00). Conclusion: The need for postgraduate orthodontic training programmes within South Africa to implement a standardized method of assessing treatment outcomes is evident. The ABO CRE is a resourceful method of assessing the quality of treatment.