Abstract :
Aim: This study was conducted to evaluate patient’s understanding of orthodontic instructions about the care of their orthodontic appliance and maintenance of oral hygiene during the fixed mechanotherapy.
Materials and Methods: This study was done in the Department of Orthodontics at Krishnadevaraya College of Dental Sciences, Bangalore. A self-assessed questionnaire was formulated to assess the awareness among patients regarding the care of their fixed appliance. It was distributed among patients and only completely filled questionnaires which were 100 in number were considered for analysis. The questionnaire was divided into 3 categories – Food, Hygiene and General Instructions on Maintenance. The Questionnaire had a total of 18 questions with YES or NO type of response.
Results: The data obtained by the survey was statistically analysed. Number of Male and Female patients was 37 and 63 respectively. In the category of Food, the overall positive response was 87.6%, whereas negative response was 12.4%. In the category of Hygiene, the overall positive response was 87.2%, whereas negative response was 12.8%. In the category of General Instructions and Maintenance, the overall positive response was 83.5%, whereas negative response was 16.5%.
Conclusion: Though majority of the patients exhibited impressive levels of understanding regarding food and hygiene, there was a lack of awareness about the general instructions and maintenance. So as orthodontists, we need to emphasize more on the awareness of patients regarding the care of their appliance which will go a long way in improving the overall results.
Keyword :
Food, Hygiene, Maintenance Instructions, Questionnaire.