Abstract:Patient health preferences are important for improving service quality and satisfaction. The aim of this study is to quantitatively measure patient preference for orthodontic treatment options for adolescents and to provide a reference for the accurate provision of orthodontic treatment options. This study was based on the Discrete Choice Experiment (DCE) method, and a total of four attributes (orthodontic aesthetics, orthodontic comfort, treatment cost, and follow-up interval) were finally included through literature review and expert consultation. A D-efficiency design was used to create a choice set with the aid of the software Ngene 1.2, and a questionnaire survey was conducted with parents/guardians of adolescents aged 12-17 years in a tertiary dental specialist hospital in Anhui Province. A conditional logit regression model was used for preference analysis. DCE results showed that all three study attributes significantly influenced the choice of orthodontic treatment option, with the exception of follow-up interval. Treatment cost was the most important attribute influencing the choice of orthodontic treatment option, followed by orthodontic comfort and aesthetics. Patients were willing to pay ¥21,500 more for a "very good" orthodontic appliance than for a "slightly poor" level of comfort. Increasing the level of appliance aesthetics from "slightly poor" to "very good" increased the probability of choosing a solution by 46.70%. This study is the first application of DCE research in the field of oral health in China and provides a reference for the extension of other clinical options decision preferences.