Orthodontic treatment can be viewed as a three-way agreement between the doctor and the staff, the PATIENT, and the parents. To achieve the results that we all want, it is important that all concerned understand and fulfill their responsibility. We provide the knowledge, the guidance and the tools for treatment. The parents provide the moral and financial support, and the patient provides the work. Actually, this is how it should be since it is the patient that will benefit most from a good result.
Past experience has shown that orthodontic treatment is different from most health services in that the patient has a primary input to the end result. For example, if one has his appendix out, he need only show up at the hospital and the surgeon does the rest. In orthodontics, the doctor depends very much on the patient. If instructions are not carried out, the desired effects will not occur.
The patient has an ACTIVE role in treatment. We cannot achieve a good result without the patient's help. The younger the patient, the more these responsibilities will fall on the shoulders of the parents. The orthodontist and staff cannot take full responsibility for treatment.
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