Awareness and behavior related to orthodontic treatment among Jazan University students, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

Awareness of malocclusion and the need to make corrections have increasingly become prevalent among young population. The demand for orthodontic treatment also became more noticeable in dental practices. The aims of the present study were to assess Jazan University students, with respect to awareness and behavior related to orthodontic treatment and the effect of gender differences on the distribution of oral health related knowledge. Self-reported questionnaires were distributed to be completed by the participants from the medical and health sciences and non-medical sciences students. These students were selected at random after having read a consent letter. Five hundred and ten (259 medical and 251 non-medical students (males 222 and 288 females) with age range 19-28 years completed the questionnaires. The data were processed and analyzed by means of the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS version 17, Institute Inc., USA). Totally, 69% males and 64.1 females scored highly in knowledge of orthodontic treatment. The corresponding rates regarding orthodontic related behavior were 39.8% males and 32.6% females, respectively. Oral health and its relation to orthodontic treatment was confirmed by 64.9% males and 59.6% females in knowledge of caries and the corresponding rates regarding gingivitis were 58.5% and 55.2% respectively. The scores on orthodontic treatment information were 50.1 males and 45.1 females, respectively. Awareness and knowledge of orthodontic treatment and related behavior were high but specific misconceptions exist. There is no statistical difference between males and females in knowledge and behavior related to oral health among Jazan University medical and health sciences and non-medical students. Key words: Awareness; malocclusion; aesthetic problem; oral health behavior.