The Influence of Demographic Factors of Nigerian Dentists on their Satisfaction with Duration of Orthodontic Treatment and Knowledge of Accelerated Orthodontics

Abstract

Background: The duration of orthodontic treatment and the knowledge of accelerated orthodontics are very important to the dental practitioner but there are limited information on the relationship between their satisfaction with duration of orthodontic treatment and knowledge of accelerated orthodontics. Aim: To assess the associations between the demographics of the Nigerian dental practitioners and their satisfactions with the duration of orthodontic treatment and their knowledge of accelerated orthodontics. Materials and Methods: Electronic and physical methods of surveying the Nigerian dental practitioners were carried out between January and June 2023. The contents of the questionnaire involving satisfaction with duration of orthodontic treatment and the knowledge of accelerated orthodontics were analysed for associations with the participants’ demographics, using the IBM SPSS version 25. Descriptive statistics, the ANOVA and independent t-test were used with the significance level set at P < .05. Results: No statistically significant associations were found between the dentists’ satisfaction with duration of orthodontic treatment and their age, gender and years of practice as dentists (P > .05). Also, no statistically significant associations were found between the dentists’ knowledge of the methods of accelerated orthodontics and age (P > .05). Statistically significant associations were found between the male gender and knowledge of administration of biological substances and piezocision, while the highest number of methods of accelerated orthodontics was statistically significantly associated with the years of practice of dentistry (P < .05). Conclusion: Although no significant associations were found between the participants’ demographics and satisfaction with duration of orthodontic treatment, gender gave significant associations with knowledge of two methods of accelerated orthodontics, while years of practice of dentistry revealed the most significant associations with knowledge of accelerated orthodontics.