Questionnaire study of electronic wear-time tracking as experienced by patients and parents during treatment with removable orthodontic appliances.

OBJECTIVE

To survey how patients and parents rate microelectronic wear-time tracking (TheraMon(®)) during treatment with removable orthodontic appliances.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

A total of 125 patients with a mean age of 11.99 years whose treatment involved removable appliances with a built-in microsensor for wear-time documentation were enrolled in a questionnaire study addressing electronic wear-time tracking. Respondents included the patients and their parents.

RESULTS

A total of 86% of the patients reported that the orthodontic appliance's comfort was unaffected by the installed sensor. A majority of respondents had a favorable impression of wear-time tracking. Printed wear-time documents from the clinician's computer were considered a "nice certificate of compliance" by 46% of patients, and 38% of them stated that they intended to improve their compliance when faced with a poor record. Indeed, 48% of parents believe that wear-time tracking can improve the therapeutic success, while 32% believe that it can reduce the duration of treatment. Around 10% of respondents felt that the sensors were unnecessary and not recommendable.

CONCLUSION

These favorable ratings by patients and their parents may help future patients and users to decide for or against microelectronic wear-time tracking. Randomized studies are needed to demonstrate whether the sheer presence of a wear-time sensor stimulates compliance on its own.