Jeremiah was designed to provide dentists with orthodontic treatment plans for cases suitable for treatment by general dental practitioners with knowledge of removable orthodontic techniques (see also Orthoplanner ).

Fifty per cent of the orthodontic treatment (treatment to correct teeth which do not fit together as they should), which is undertaken in the United Kingdom, is carried out by general dental practitioners whose only experience in orthodontics was a basic training during their undergraduate curriculum. Nevertheless there are a significant proportion of cases (25%), which are suitable for treatment by such practitioners using removable orthodontic appliances. The latter have the advantage that they can be removed from the mouth for adjustment and cleaning but have the disadvantage that the range of tooth movements they can carry out to correct dental malocclusion is restricted to simple tipping of teeth. Whilst the mechanical side of treatment is relatively straightforward, success depends upon adopting an appropriate treatment plan. Studies have shown that less then half the treatment plans adopted by practitioners are ideal and this considerably compromises the standard of the result obtained. Jeremiah has been shown to improve on the ability of practitioners to select cases, which are suitable for treatment with removable orthodontic appliances and to identify those requiring referral for more specialized treatment.

Jeremiah for DOS and Windows (CD-ROM)

The program was designed and written through joint cooperation between the Department of Engineering Mathematics and the Department of Child Dental Health, University of Bristol, C.D. Stephens, C.D.Stephens@bristol.ac.uk

Development was funded by an MRC Grant.