1985 JCO Orthodontic Practice Study
The responses to the 1985 JCO Orthodontic Practice Study questionnaire have been processed, and the results are available to orthodontists. A promised series of articles summarizing the main results and their significance begins in this issue of JCO, and a book with the complete data and analysis is also available. A useful feature of the book is a set of worksheets that permit orthodontists to compare their practices to the average practice most like their own, and to compare their practices to themselves in successive years.
The JCO Orthodontic Practice Study has become a biennial investigation into the economics and administrative practices of orthodontists. With more than a thousand practicing orthodontists responding to the Study questionnaire, the results offer a reliable picture of what is going on in orthodontic practice in the United States. Since this 1985 Study is the third in the series, it not only reveals specific information about current practices, but offers an opportunity to speculate about trends.
The Practice Studies permit orthodontists to see what is happening not only in practices around the country, but in their own geographic areas. In the Study results there is clear information about income, expenses, fees, numbers of case starts, and a host of details that run the gamut of orthodontic practice. Furthermore, the Study points the way to measures that may be contributing to success and growth at a time when success and growth are not so easy to achieve.
With the results of the Study available in the year the data was gathered, this is up-to-date and vital information to guide all orthodontists, regardless of the age, level, or growth status of their practices.
