| Popis: |
General practitioner dentists and nonorthodontic specialties should have the knowledge of the basic principles and practices of orthodontics in order to educate the patients, diagnose their problems correctly and for proper referral. Many times, patient might present with a chief complaint that he/she would not be able to correlate with an underlying malocclusion. In that case, it is imperative for the dentist to identify and diagnose the chief cause which may be an orthodontic cause and then plan a proper referral Aim:- The objective of the present study is to assess the Knowledge and Attitude about Principles and Practices of Orthodontic Treatment among Dentists and NonOrthodontic Specialists in Karnataka. Method:- This study was performed by presenting a closed questionnaire to a total of 359 participants who were general dental practitioners and non-orthodontic specialists. A self-developed questionnaire was distributed through personal contact and e-mail.The questionnaire survey included a total number of 17 questions out of which 12 questions were formulated to study the knowledge and 5 questions were formulated to study the attitude towards orthodontic treatment principles and practices. Result:- Among 359 responders, 74% (n=267) knew that ideal period to start orthodontic treatment was by assessing the Growth period and treating accordingly, 88% (n=316) knew that malocclusions can be treated during mixed dentition stage, 94%(n=337) were aware of functional therapy,75%(n=267) knew that functional appliances were best advised during peak of pubertal growth period, 94%(n=337) considered functional therapy as a part of orthodontic treatment when a patient complains of incompetent lips and proclined teeth, 87%(n=312) were not sure whether extraction of teeth during orthodontic treatment, 96% (n=346) believed habits like mouth breathing or thumb-sucking have an effect on the alignment of anterior teeth, 89% (n=321) believed correcting the malocclusion influences healthy social living,94% (n=339) believed orthodontic therapy can be a part of management of Temporomandibular disorders, 68% (n=246) thought that retainers should be worn for 12 months after orthodontic therapy, 58% (n=208) believed that orthodontic treatment can be given in periodontally compromised patients, 86% (n=309) believed orthodontic treatment can be delivered even if the molars were missing, 96% (n=343) considered calling an orthodontist for opinion, 87% (n=311) answered that they carry out diagnostic orthodontic procedures, 84% (n=300) believed orthodontic treatment can be started before the eruption of all permanent teeth, 88% (n=316) said that they will look for malocclusions even if the patient presented with some other chief complaint, 70% (n=250) considered doing orthognathic surgery at patient’s convenience place. Conclusion:- This study showed that there is good knowledge and Attitude about Principles and Practices of Orthodontic Treatment among Dentists and NonOrthodontic Specialists in Karnataka. However, there is a need to increase the knowledge about few things like retention after orthodontic treatment and regarding the requirement of extraction for particular orthodontic treatment and hence there is a need for an increased clinically oriented education in the undergraduate courses and a multi-disciplinary inter department seminar presentations and forums set up for the postgraduation courses for them to understand the scope of each other’s specialties. |
