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南京医科大学学报（社会科学版）京医科大学学报（社会科学版）
第3期 总第110期 南
2022年6月 Journal of Nanjing Medical University（Social Sciences）of Nanjing Medical University（Social Sciences） · 305 ·
Journal

Preferences for orthodontic treatment options of teenager patients

——based on Discrete Choice Experiment
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ZHANG Yanqun ，XU Wenhua ，WANG Lidan ，XU Jianguang ，GU Yuanyuan 4
1. School of Health Management，Anhui Medical University，Hefei 230032，China；2. Stomatological Hospital and College，
Anhui Medical University，Hefei 230032，China；3. Center for Health Policy Research，Anhui Medical University，Hefei
230032，China；4. Centre for the Health Economy，Macquarie University，Macquarie Park，NSW 2109，Australia
Abstract： Patients’ health preferences are important for improving service quality and patients’
satisfaction. The aim of this study was 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 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，except for the follow⁃up interval，the other three research
attributes significantly influenced orthodontic treatment options. Treatment cost was the most important attribute
influencing orthodontic treatment options，followed by orthodontic comfort and aesthetics. Compared with the
slightly poor comfort，the patients were willing to pay 21 500 yuan more for the orthotics with very good
comfort. The aesthetic level of orthotics was raised from slightly poor to very good，and the probability of
scheme selection was expected to increase by 62.43%. 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.
Key words：Discrete Choice Experiment；orthodontics；patient preference；willingness to pay；teenager