{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,27]],"date-time":"2026-10-27T22:05:20Z","timestamp":1793138720651,"version":"4.5.0"},"reference-count":26,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"3","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2022,2,5]],"date-time":"2022-02-05T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1644019200000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["IJERPH"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Objective: The aim of this paper is to assess parents\u2019 knowledge about early orthodontic consultation and treatment, and to determine the association of this knowledge with number of children, monthly income, children\u2019s age and perceived dental problems. Methods: A questionnaire was distributed to 3000 school children aged 6\u201311 years. The children were asked to take the questionnaire to their parents and bring it back the next day. It consisted of 13 questions. Some of these questions were related to the gender of the child, number of children, and parents\u2019 monthly income. The remaining questions assessed the parents\u2019 awareness of their children\u2019s need for orthodontic treatment. Results: In total, 2538 parents completed the questionnaire. Of these, 2014 (79%) of the parents thought that their children\u2019s teeth would have a significant impact on their personality. Moreover, 1637 (64.5%) parents thought that their children had a problem with their teeth; 1080 (66%) of these parents consulted a dentist. Of these 1080 parents, 821 (76%) consulted an orthodontist, and of these 821 parents, 449 (55%) initiated the required orthodontic treatment. The number of children who visited an orthodontist was found to increase with an increase in age (p = 0.0057). Moreover, a perceived overjet was associated with a higher number of orthodontic consultations (p = 0.0326). Conclusion: Although parents\u2019 awareness regarding their children\u2019s orthodontic treatment is important, other factors, such as the age of the child, the severity of the malocclusion and the consulted dentist, play a role in initiating orthodontic treatment.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/ijerph19031800","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2022,2,6]],"date-time":"2022-02-06T20:36:47Z","timestamp":1644179807000},"page":"1800","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":15,"title":["Parents\u2019 Awareness of Early Orthodontic Consultation: A Cross-Sectional Study"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"19","author":[{"given":"Aljazi H.","family":"Aldweesh","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Division of Orthodontics, Department of Pediatric Dentistry and Orthodontics, College of Dentistry, King Saud University, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-9576-960X","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Afnan A.","family":"Ben Gassem","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Pediatric Dentistry and Orthodontics, College of Dentistry, Taibah University, AlMadinah AlMunawwarah 42353, Saudi Arabia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-6533-2821","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Bashayer M.","family":"AlShehri","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"College of Dentistry, King Saud University, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Adhwa A.","family":"AlTowaijri","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"College of Dentistry, King Saud University, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Sahar F.","family":"Albarakati","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Division of Orthodontics, Department of Pediatric Dentistry and Orthodontics, College of Dentistry, King Saud University, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2022,2,5]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","unstructured":"Bahreman, A. 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