Utilization of Orthodontic Services in the Fars Province, Iran: The Reasons People Travel to the Capital for Orthodontic Treatment

STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM: The first step towards appropriately planning orthodontic treatment and prevention services is to understand the needs and demands of the target population. However, this is ignored in most developing countries. PURPOSE: This study aims to evaluate the attitudes of patients in Fars province towards travelling to the provincial capital (Shiraz) to receive orthodontic treatments. MATERIALS AND METHOD: This cross-sectional study randomly selected 420 patients referring to two public and four private orthodontic centers in Shiraz, coming from other regions of Fars province. The patients were interviewed about their demographic status, residing area and the reasons of deciding to receive orthodontic treatment in Shiraz. Data were analyzed by SPSS software, using Chi-square and ANOVA statistical tests. RESULTS: The response rate was 96% (N=403). Near half of the patients (176; 43.7 %) lived 100-200km, and 80 (19.9%) patients lived farther than 200km from Shiraz. Having no orthodontist (54.8%) and no dentist providing orthodontic treatment (39.2%) in their region were the most important factors bringing the patients to provincial capital for orthodontic treatments. High costs of treatment in their home county and hoping to receive treatment of higher quality were the other important motives for lower and higher socio-economic backgrounds, respectively. Friends'/relatives' recommendation was a more important factor in patients using public clinics for choosing their therapist, while referral from dentists was more important for patients going to private clinics. The patients who lived in counties farther than 200km from Shiraz were more concerned about quality of treatment results than those who lived closer (p= 0.010). CONCLUSION: A multifactorial approach is needed to provide the desired orthodontic services for people in Fars province so that they would not need to travel to the capital for such treatments.