the impact of an objective measure of need in orthodontics on care
Research type
Research Study
Full title
the impact of an objective measure of need in orthodontics on care
IRAS ID
316782
Contact name
Ciaran O'Neill
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Queen's University Belfast
Duration of Study in the UK
0 years, 5 months, 3 days
Research summary
Previous work undertaken by the CI published in 2011 highlighted the existence of a sharp socio-economic gradient in the use of orthodontic care among children and adolescents in Northern Ireland. In 2014 an objective measure of treatment need was introduced in Northern Ireland to ensure a more rational use of public services. This has the potential to reduce disparities in uptake among children and adolescents of orthodontic services. It also has the potential to encourage dentists to adjust their provision of care in other ways to compensate for income lost in providing orthodontic services to children. A previous application (17/NI/0144) was approved to examine changing patterns of service use in the aftermath of the policy change by socio-economic group, to assess the impact of the policy change and identify whether and what adjustments might be required by policy makers.
To increase the robustness of the analysis it was decided to widen the range of services covered by the study (so we could examine orthodontic care relative to other types of care) and the age range of those examined (so we could compare adults and children). This would permit a fuller examination of the impact of the policy change by comparing orthodontic care with non-orthodontic care following changes to eligibility for orthodontic care.
REC name
North West - Haydock Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
22/NW/0291
Date of REC Opinion
18 Aug 2022
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion