Background
The primary dentition plays a very important role in the child's growth and development, not only in terms of speech, chewing, appearance, and the prevention of bad habits but also in the guidance and eruption of permanent teeth.[1 2 space maintainers for permanent dentition. However, if premature extraction or loss of tooth is unavoidable due to extensive caries or other reasons, it may lead to mesial migration of teeth resulting in loss of the arch length which may manifest as malocclusion in permanent dentition in the form of crowding, impaction of permanent teeth, supra eruption of opposing teeth, and so on.[3
The number of children affected by malocclusion due to premature loss of primary teeth has increased significantly and is considered one of the most common dental problems together with dental caries, gingival disease, and dental fluorosis.[4 5
Treatment of malocclusion comprises corrective as well as interceptive measures. Interceptive measures are done in the primary or early mixed dentition when the first signs of occlusal maldevelopment are recognized.[6 Space maintainers are very important to children in mixed and primary dentition for preventing problems of malocclusion.
Early detection and appropriate referral of cases requiring preventive and interceptive orthodontic treatments are necessary. It will eliminate or reduce the severity of a developing malocclusion, the complexity of treatment, and overall treatment time and cost. It will also improve the self-esteem of the subject and parental satisfaction.[6 7 space maintainers ”, which are fixed or removable appliances are used to preserve arch length following the premature loss or elective extraction of the primary tooth.[8 space maintainers often affects the future dental needs of a complex orthodontic treatment as it may potentially obviate the need for later extractions.[7
The utilization of interceptive orthodontics is dependent on the knowledge of parents about space maintainers . Parents are usually educated in a nursing home or hospital during their routine visit to the physician for their child's checkup where they will get information about vaccination, diet and nutrition, and prevention of injuries and accidents, whereas in case of oral health the attitude is entirely different which make them visit the dentist at a later stage of caries progression or malocclusion, and so on.
Many a times, people responsible for the oral care of children feel or believe that since primary teeth will any way shed, it is not worth their while to spend time/money on providing good oral health to children. Even in developed nations, most parents still take their children to the dentist for curative and not for preventive treatments.
The American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry (AAPD) emphasizes the importance of prevention, diagnosis, and treatment necessary to restore and maintain the oral health of infants, children, and adolescents. Comprehensive healthcare cannot be achieved unless dental care is a strong priority in all health service programs.[9
With consideration to all the aspects, a study was designed to evaluate the level of awareness of Saudi parents toward space maintainers in Alkharj city.
Aim of the Study
To evaluate the level of Saudi parent's awareness toward space maintainers in Alkharj city.
Objectives of the study
To evaluate the level of awareness of Saudi parents toward space maintainers in Alkharj city.
To enhance the awareness of using space maintainers for Saudi children in Alkharj city.
Question of the research
How is the level of awareness of Saudi parents towards space maintainers in Alkharj city?
Hypothesis
Research hypothesis
The level of awareness of Saudi parents towards space maintainers is low.
Null hypothesis
No difference in the level of awareness of Saudi parents towards space maintainers .
Material and Methods
Study design
Descriptive cross-sectional study.
Study population
Saudi parents who live in Alkharj city.
Ethical clearance
Ethical clearance was obtained by the institution review board.
A descriptive cross-sectional questionnaire-based study was planned among Saudi parents who visited the College of Dentistry, Prince Sattam Bin Abdulaziz University.
Sample size
The sample size was calculated by using the formula
Where, Z = Standard score corresponding to a given confidence level. Example, at 95% confidence level (CI) or 5% level of significance (α = 0.05), Z = 1.96.
P = Prevalence of awareness about space maintainers among parents 40% = 0.40
q = (1 – p) 100-40 = 60% = 0.6
d = Precision limit or proportion of sampling error which is usually a 5% confidence limit. = 0.05
After substituting the values required sample size was found to be 374.7 which was rounded to 380.
Study duration
A total of 380 parents (both gender) were randomly selected for the study during the period from June 2018 to December 2018.
Sampling technique
The sampling technique considered as systematic sampling technique with every 5th parent included for the study. Those parents who will give written consent were included and the parents not willing to participate were excluded from the study.
Questionnaire
Parents were requested to fill out an objective type of anonymous questionnaire without providing any oral health information. Questions related to personal information (age and educational status), previous loss of primary tooth and space maintainers , awareness toward the uses and maintenance of space maintainers , source of information and utilization of space maintainers were asked. Educational status was considered as up to secondary schooling, diploma graduate, degree graduate, and master's degree graduate.
Validation of a questionnaire
Initially, questions were prepared in the English language and then translated to the Arabic language again back-translated to English to validate the questionnaire.
Method
Parents were contacted in the available free time in the outpatient department and explained the nature and purpose of the study. The questionnaire was distributed without giving any information. Sufficient time was given to fill the questionnaire and a filled questionnaire was collected back on the same day.
Statistical analysis
Descriptive statistics were computed and data were statistically analyzed using the Chi-square test. All analyses were made with a 95% CI and a P value < 0.05 considered as statistically significant.
Results
Table 1 shows mean age of study subjects according to gender there were 231 males with a mean age of 38.18 ± 10.02 and 149 females with a mean age of 38.76 ± 9.01 the mean age was statistically nonsignificant according to gender.
Table 1: Mean age of study subjects according to gender
Table 2 shows the distribution of study subjects based on educational status. The majority of parents had a graduation level of education (32.7%); education according to gender was statistically nonsignificant.
Table 2: Study population and educational status according to gender
Table 3 shows the distribution of study subjects based on working status. The majority of parents were working (60.0%); working status according to gender was statistically nonsignificant.
Table 3: Study population and working status according to gender
Table 4 shows the awareness of parents about space maintainers . Around 312 (82.1%) parents were not aware of space maintainers and did not receive any information about the same. About 166 (43.7%) parents did not have any personal experience of a child's missing deciduous teeth. Only 115 (30.26%) of respondents have received some information about space maintainers . The majority of parents 298 (78.4%) did not know whether space maintainers aid in the eruption of permanent teeth. Similarly, 73.7% did not know when to use space maintainers .
Table 4: Response of parents about space maintainer knowledge
Table 5 shows that only 26 (6.8%) parents correctly answered the question related to the type of space maintainers . Nearly 299 (78.7%) parents were not aware of the purpose of space maintainers . Moreover, 270 (71.1%) parents told they did not know what actions are to be taken in case space maintainers are broken.
Table 5: Response of parents about space maintainer knowledge
Table 6 shows 360 (94.7%) parents never used any space maintainers . Around 349 (91.8%) respondents never interacted with medical or dental experts regarding deciduous tooth loss and space maintenance. About 330 (86.8%) parents were unaware of the eruption sequence of permanent teeth. About 303 (79.7%) parents did not know about treatment options available if deciduous teeth were lost. Again the responses were statistically nonsignificant according to gender with a P value >0.05.
Table 6: Response of parents about space maintainer knowledge
Discussion
Parents have a unique position to address dental disease in children. The result of the present study suggests that more than 50% of the parents were having a personal experience of child's missing tooth. This study is first of its kind to assess parent's knowledge towards space maintainers . There is very limited literature assessing parents' awareness toward the management of early loss of primary teeth and the use of space maintainers . The present study suggests the overall awareness about space maintainers among parents is very low (17.9%) this is in accordance with the study by Amal I Linjawi et al .[10 et al .[11
Borrie et al .[12
The use and choice of preventive measures by dental practitioners can differ between countries and among individual dentists, with the ultimate common goal of improving oral health. The differences are perhaps, due to oral healthcare legislation, acceptance, and appreciation of preventive approaches by patients and by the dental community, availability of preventive agents, and workload of restorative care, as well as dentists' location of practice, years in practice, age, and income.[13 14
A gap seems, however, to exist between what is known about preventing oral diseases and what is provided in private practice, public clinics, dental schools, and community-based programs in many countries.[15
Public knowledge of oral diseases and their prevention is assessed in several studies, with a gap between the general public and current scientific knowledge of the prevention of dental diseases.[15 16
A lower educational level is consistently associated with a low level of knowledge[17
In a study conducted to know the caries-preventive knowledge and reported behavior among Japanese parents resident in London showed their knowledge and behavior to be generally lower than those reported by English parents. This difference was also seen among British expatriates in Tokyo compared to the Japanese, the former knowing more about dental caries.[18 space maintainers .
This manuscript is of importance to primary care physicians because they are the first healthcare providers for young children. In general, physicians with adequate knowledge about early loss of deciduous teeth and their consequences can guide parents about space maintainers .
Conclusions
Knowledge of space maintainers among Saudi parents who live in Alkharj city is very less. Moreover, less than 20% of parents know about space maintainers . Hence, dental professionals need to create awareness of interceptive orthodontics rather than curative approaches, to achieve better oral health outcomes. Furthermore, this would potentially be reflected as an improvement in the oral health of the general public especially concerning the prevention of malocclusion.
Declaration of patient consent
The authors certify that they have obtained all appropriate patient consent forms. In the form, the patient(s) has/have given his/her/their consent for his/her/their images and other clinical information to be reported in the journal. The patients understand that their names and initials will not be published and due efforts will be made to conceal their identity, but anonymity cannot be guaranteed.
Financial support and sponsorship
Self-sponsored.
Conflicts of interest
There are no conflicts of interest.
Acknowledgment
To all the study participants.
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