PATIENTS HARMS IN CONNECTION WITH ORTHODONTICS
Although patient safety has been well established in other disciplines, it is still in its infancy in dentistry and especially orthodontics. This article aims to describe the different types of patient harms related to orthodontic treatment and highlight causes that may contribute to their occurrence. Patient harm in orthodontics include damage to the dental tissues (root resorption, enamel demineralization, hypersensitivity), periodontal damage (gingival recessions, bone loss), allergies, negative impact on orofacial function, relapse, deficient or late diagnosis and emotional damage. No two patient injuries are the same. It often is a complex network of multiple contributing factors and not as a result of a single causal factor. Patient harm often has a significant impact on the parties involved. Nevertheless, concrete protocols to avoid patient safety incidents in orthodontics are lacking. When an adverse event occurs and a patient is exposed to harm, all the necessary steps to minimize the extent of the injury need to be taken. Also, the patients are entitled to receive open and honest information about the course of events, so that they can form an overall picture of the course of the injury. Research is needed in the field of patient safety in Orthodontics by identifying the different types of patient harm, as well as the contributing factors that lead to these adverse events. This is of great interest to patients as well as the healthcare system in Denmark.