A cross-sectional study investigating patients' preferences regarding shared decision-making in adult orthodontic patients

Introduction Shared decision-making (SDM) is a process by which patients and clinicians work collaboratively to make decisions about healthcare. Previously, research has shown that patients want to be more involved in decisions about their care, but more recent evidence suggests that some patients may not wish to have the level of involvement that is now expected of them. Aims This study therefore investigated adult orthodontic patients' preferred and perceived roles in treatment decision-making. Methods This cross-sectional study was carried out in a teaching hospital using the Control Preferences Scale (CPS). This involved asking patients to choose one of five cards relating, firstly, to their preferred role in orthodontic decision-making, and then their perceived role in their current orthodontic treatment decision-making, and these were compared. Results One hundred patients were recruited and perceived roles in decision-making tended to be more passive than those patients said they preferred. Males were significantly more likely to select a passive role than females (p = 0.018). Conclusions Adult orthodontic patients perceived a more passive role in their current treatment decisions than they would have preferred. This highlights the importance of clinicians asking patients about their preferred role in treatment decision-making from the outset.