Assessment of criteria for referral of patients by pediatric dentists and general practitioners to orthodontists, evaluated by pediatric dentists, general practitioners and orthodontists

Aim: The aim of this study is to identify orthodontic issues for which pediatric dentists and general practitioners feel the need to refer patients to orthodontists and to evaluate the referral criteria used by pediatric dentists, general practitioners and orthodontists during the referral process. Material and Method: The questionnaire was prepared with Google Forms and applied online via social media platforms to pediatric dentists and general practitioners and orthodontists who are members of the Turkish Orthodontic Society by e-mail. A total of 230 participants, including 84 pediatric dentists, 75 general practitioners, and 71 orthodontists, took part in the study. The questionnaire form consists of questions that include demographic and professional information, orthodontic problems that require patient referral to the orthodontist, and the factors affecting the selection of an orthodontist during the referral process. In addition, pediatric dentists and general practitioners were asked about their orthodontic treatment practices and class malocclusion diagnostic skills. Statistical analyzes were performed with IBM SPSS V23 and the level of significance was taken as p<0.050 for all analyzes. Results: Incomplete and inconsistent questionnaires were excluded from our study and group distributions were equalized, and a total of 204 questionnaire data with 68 responses in each group were included in our study. The correct response rate of pediatric dentists to class malocclusion information was found to be higher than that of general practitioners. While only 2.9% of general practitioners reported performing orthodontic treatments in their clinics, this percentage was 38.2% for pediatric dentists. Approximately 98.5% of pediatric dentists and 97.1% of general dentists refer patients to orthodontists. The rate of orthodontists who stated that they received patient referral from pediatric dentists and general practitioners is 97%. Among the referred orthodontic problems, the factor of "orientation to eliminate crowding" has the highest rate (98.51%). The factor with the lowest rate among the orthodontic problems referred is the factor "if the patient has temporomandibular joint complaints". Among the factors affecting the selection of orthodontists in the referral process, the factor with the highest score in general dentists is "the success of the orthodontist's case results, "being able to communicate with the orthodontist" in pediatric dentists, and "positive past experiences between other physicians and orthodontists" in orthodontists. Conclusion: Pediatric dentists and general practitioners refer their patients with orthodontic problems to orthodontists. The factors affecting the selection of orthodontists in the referral process differ according to the physician groups. Key words: General Practitioners, Orthodontists, Pediatric Dentists, Referral Criterias