An Epidemiological Survey on the Awareness towards Orthodontic Treatment among Middle School and High School Children of Karnataka State

Context: Malocclusion can conciliate the oral health tissues and can lead to social and psychological problem. Hence an investigation of the malocclusion status in growing children to intercept the same is required Aims: To assess the awareness towards Orthodontic treatment among middle school and high school children of Karnataka state. Settings and design: School settings and Descriptive cross-sectional survey Methods and Material: A cross-sectional epidemiological survey was conducted in all the 30 districts of Karnataka. School children in the age group of 10-16 years were the target population. Population proportionate technique was employed for the sample size estimation. A total sample of 9505 was randomly selected from 102 schools all over Karnataka. A pre-structured questionnaire was used to assess the awareness of children towards orthodontic treatment. Statistical analysis used: Simple descriptive statistics, t-test. Results: High school children exhibited high awareness with respect to the statement 5, 6, 8 and 14 when compared with the middle school children. Similarly middle school children had high awareness with respect to the statement 9, 10 and 12. Conclusions: High school children showed a higher level of awareness about orthodontic treatment when compared to middle school children.