Assessment of Perception and Barriers toward Orthodontic Treatment Needs in the Saudi Arabian Adult Population

Abdulrahman K Alshammari; Ammar A Siddiqui; Nawaf H Al Shammary; Yasser R Malik; Mohammad Khursheed Alam

doi:10.3390/healthcare10122488

Assessment of Perception and Barriers toward Orthodontic Treatment Needs in the Saudi Arabian Adult Population

Healthcare (Basel). 2022 Dec 9;10(12):2488. doi: 10.3390/healthcare10122488.

Authors

Abdulrahman K Alshammari¹, Ammar A Siddiqui¹, Nawaf H Al Shammary¹, Yasser R Malik¹, Mohammad Khursheed Alam^{2

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Affiliations

¹ Department of Preventive Dentistry, College of Dentistry, University of Ha'il, P.O. Box 2440, Ha'il 81481, Saudi Arabia.
² Department of Preventive Dentistry, College of Dentistry, Jouf University, Sakaka 72345, Saudi Arabia.
³ Department of Dental Research Cell, Saveetha Dental College and Hospitals, Saveetha Institute of Medical and Technical Sciences, Chennai 600077, India.
⁴ Department of Public Health, Faculty of Allied Health Sciences, Daffodil International University, Dhaka 1341, Bangladesh.

Abstract

Patients’ decisions regarding orthodontic treatment are influenced by a variety of factors, such as their subjective opinions of how their oral cavity looks, age, gender, educational level, and income. The present study aimed to measure the orthodontic treatments needs for the Saudi Arabian population, and also to report potential barriers towards it. It is an observational study with cross sectional design. Data was collected from nationals and residents living in Saudi Arabia and who are at least 18 years old. A total of 1184 adult patients (880 females and 304 males) were included in this study. The population for the study was reached and chosen using a non-probability snowball sampling method. A validated and reliable questionnaire was distributed to the participants electronically through google form. Inferential statistics was applied using Pearson Chi Square test. p value < 0.05 was considered significant. The majority of the sample (73.2%) exhibited a favorable attitude toward orthodontic treatment. Most participants including male and female gender wanted orthodontic treatment primarily to have their protruding teeth fixed. The proportion of persons who cited chewing difficulty as the reason they needed orthodontic treatment was strongly influenced by the monthly income variable (p = 0.005). Cost and time of orthodontic therapy were the biggest obstacles to undergoing treatment, accounting for 34.5% and 19.5%, respectively. There was highly significant difference between the underlying medical conditions and the age and monthly income variables (p = 0.000). Based on the findings of the present study, it can be concluded that protruding teeth are the most important treatment needs perceived by the Saudi population, followed by spacing in between teeth, crowding of teeth, and unaesthetic smile. Cost of the orthodontic treatment was identified as the most significant barrier to the treatment needs, followed by long duration of orthodontic treatment, and pain.

Keywords: adults; barrier; orthodontic; orthodontic treatment; perception; protrusion; survey.

Grants and funding

This research received no external funding.