Queries to the British Orthodontic Society.

Objective: As the representative body for orthodontic specialists, the British Orthodontic Society (BOS) provides advice and guidance to professionals and patients on a variety of topics. The BOS receive frequent queries from professionals and patients and, where appropriate, provide advice and guidance. By reflecting on the types of queries received, it is hoped that general guidance can be developed and 'frequently asked questions' information established to improve knowledge in these particular areas.

Design: Retrospective assessment of queries raised to the BOS.

Setting: BOS headquarters, London.

Methods: All queries raised to the BOS by professionals and patients from January 2017 to October 2018 were collated and divided into those raised by dental professionals or by patients. Within each group, all queries were further subcategorised into different topic areas. For each of the main topics, guidance will be developed to improve clinician and patient knowledge in these areas.

Results: In the time period assessed, 422 queries were received to the BOS, 51.8% (n = 229) were from patients and 48.2% (n = 213) from professionals. Commissioning was the most common topic queried by professionals (34.3%), which included NHS contracts and tendering. Queries regarding associate matters (9.4%), specific clinical queries (9.4%) and BOS issues (8.9%) were also common topics raised by professionals. The most common topic queried by patients was the eligibility for NHS treatment (29.3%), followed by specific clinical queries (22.3%) and seeking recommendations for clinicians (10.5%).

Conclusions: Overall, a large number of queries were received by the BOS. While some queries required specific information from the BOS, the majority of queries could be addressed through already published information and guidance. This project identifies the more common queries and provides clear guidance on where to find the appropriate advice.