KNOWLEDGE AND PERCEPTION OF ORTHODONTIC TREATMENT AMONG DENTAL AND NON-DENTAL UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS

Tarulatha R Shyagali; Ruchi Jha; Manish Singh; Pratibha Kshirsagar; Anil Tiwari; Abhishek Gupta

Tarulatha R Shyagali Department of Orthodontics and Dentofacial Orthopedics, Hitkarini Dental College and Hospital, Jabalpur
Ruchi Jha Department of Orthodontics and Dentofacial Orthopedics, Hitkarini Dental College and Hospital, Jabalpur
Manish Singh Department of Orthodontics and Dentofacial Orthopedics, Hitkarini Dental College and Hospital, Jabalpur
Pratibha Kshirsagar Department of Orthodontics and Dentofacial Orthopedics, Hitkarini Dental College and Hospital, Jabalpur
Anil Tiwari Department of Orthodontics and Dentofacial Orthopedics, Hitkarini Dental College and Hospital, Jabalpur
Abhishek Gupta Department of Orthodontics and Dentofacial Orthopedics, Hitkarini Dental College and Hospital, Jabalpur

Keywords: Awareness, Dental Students, Knowledge, Non dental students, Orthodontics

Abstract

Objectives: the study aimed to assesses the knowledge and perception towards orthodontic treatment amongst dental and non-dental undergraduate students and compare the results obtained.
Materials and Methods: A cross sectional questionnaire study was conducted amongst 340 dental and non-dental undergraduate students. The sample included 169 dental and 171 non dental Students. The questionnaire contained 8 knowledge based and 7 perception based questions related to orthodontics. Each participant was given 10 minutes of time to fill up the questionnaire after obtaining the inform consent for his/her willing participation in the study. Data collected was subjected to chi square statistic to know the difference between the two groups.

Results: There was significant difference between the dental and non-dental students for the various questions related to knowledge and perception towards the orthodontic treatment (p=0.001). Majority of students in both the group agreed that the arrangement of teeth affects the facial appearance, but the dental students’ (75.9%) knowledge was better in comparison to the non-dental students (63.9%). Around 57.1% of non-dental students agreed to undergo orthodontic treatment if advised by the dentist or their parents, in comparison higher number of dental students (67.6%) were willing to do the same. Conclusion: Majority of the dental student were well aware of the orthodontic treatment and their modalities in comparison to the non-dental students. However, they lacked the positive perception towards the orthodontic treatment in comparison to their non-dental peer group. This warrants the need to educate the current group of students regarding the orthodontic treatment benefits.