Objective: To compare orthodontic treatment outcome in a sample of patients divided on the basis of orthodontic provider education by using 2 outcomes measures.

Methods: 126 dental casts of patients treated by orthodontic specialists and 70 treated by general practitioners were examined. All casts were collected from 10th grade students. A visual analog scale was used to estimate the patient's perception of improvement in his or her smile. Secondly, the American Board of Orthodontics Objective Grading System (ABO index) was used to evaluate each dental cast.

Results: When the visual analog scores were compared, there was no significant statistical difference between the 2 provider groups. However, when ABO index scores were compared, there was a statistically significant difference between groups, with orthodontic specialists achieving a better index score.

Conclusions: When the ABO index is used to evaluate treatment results of patients treated by orthodontic specialists versus general dentists, orthodontists achieved a significantly better score.

Reviewer's Comments: The results of this study should not be surprising. I would hope that dentists with specialty training in orthodontics would be able to achieve better occlusal results than non-specialists. I thought it was interesting that there was no significant difference between groups when patients evaluated the improvement of their smile. I suspect this is because patients are not generally aware of specific components that constitute an excellent occlusion. This is why less-than-ideal treatment is often accepted by patients if the "social 6" teeth are aligned.

Reviewer: John S. Casko, DDS, MS, PhD