Awareness of Students in Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences about Orthodontic Treatment

Background and purpose: Malocclusion is the most common developmental disorder. Many people undergo orthodontic treatment for cosmetic reasons. Knowledge about the need for orthodontic treatment in different population groups could help in having an appropriate perspective towards providing orthodontic treatments and planning for reasonable services in the community at macro level. The purpose of this study was to investigate the knowledge of students in Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences about orthodontic treatments. Materials and methods: This descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted in 2018. Data were collected using a questionnaire developed by Pourkhameneh et al. consisting of three sections, including demographic questions, general questions, and questions about the knowledge levels of participants. Data analysis was carried out in SPSS V24. Results: A total of 353 subjects participated in this study. The total mean scores for knowledge in pharmacy and dentistry students were 5.59 and 5.25, respectively. The mean levels of knowledge were not significantly different between senior medical students (5.54), senior students in basic sciences (5.12) and bachelor degree programs (4.54) (P>0.05). Females’ knowledge (5.28±1.50) about orthodontics was significantly greater than that of males (4.95±1.44) (P= 0.024). Conclusion: The students participated in this study showed medium levels of knowledge about orthodontic treatment. Today, social media are highly used by people, therefore, they could be of great benefit in informing them about orthodontic treatment.