ABSTRACT
AIMS: This study aimed to assess parents' awareness and attitude regarding their children's malocclusion compared with professional assessments and to measure the prevalence of malocclusion among children in Dammam, Saudi Arabia. METHODS: The study population consisted of 377 randomly selected children (aged 8-12 years) from five schools in Dammam, Saudi Arabia. A questionnaire was used to assess parents' awareness using the Aesthetic Component (AC) of the Index of Orthodontic Treatment Need (IOTN) and knowledge about preventive orthodontics. A clinical examination was performed by two calibrated examiners to measure the prevalence of malocclusion using both the AC and dental health component (DHC) of IOTN. RESULTS: The most common Angle's molar relationship was Class I (78.2%), followed by Class II (17.5%) and Class III (4.2%). The DHC (score 3-5), which indicated the need for orthodontic treatment, was 55.4%. There was a significant difference (P < 0.05) between AC from examiners and parents, whereby the parents tended to underestimate their children's malocclusion by a factor of 1.45. Surprisingly, many parents (67.4%) lacked knowledge about preventive orthodontics. CONCLUSIONS: Class I malocclusion was most prevalent among children in the area of Dammam. A moderate percentage (55.4%) of the study subjects required treatment based on the DHC. Based on the lack of knowledge about preventive orthodontics in the majority of parents in our study, it is recommended that oral health-promoting programs be implemented to improve the awareness of malocclusion in the region.
