Dr Lindsey Cameron and her Co-I (East Kent NHS Trust) have been awarded £30,000 from the British Orthodontic Society (BOS) to conduct a study on the effects of orthodontic treatment on peer relationships, behaviour and bullying in school children.
This is the second award that Lindsey and her Co-Is have secured this year for this novel area of research. The first award funded research looking at the relationship between dental malocclusions and peer friendship networks, through questionnaires and a dental examination (also from the BOS). Research Associate Zaffie Cox and Kent Psychology undergraduate research assistants have managed to recruit 1000 child participants in this project.
The new funding award will allow Lindsey and her team to follow up a sub-sample of these young people for more detailed qualitative interviews to gain a richer understanding of the relationship between teeth, confidence, friendships, and how dental treatment affects all of these things.