A cross-sectional study into the reasons behind orthodontic re-treatment

Nada E Tashkandi; Sara A Asiri; Raneem A Al Bin Ali; Amal Z Maalawi; Sumaia H Alwan; Shaden M Alabood; Ruba M Alsharif

doi:10.4103/jos.jos_116_22

A cross-sectional study into the reasons behind orthodontic re-treatment

J Orthod Sci. 2023 Sep 4:12:56. doi: 10.4103/jos.jos_116_22. eCollection 2023.

Authors

Nada E Tashkandi¹, Sara A Asiri², Raneem A Al Bin Ali³, Amal Z Maalawi³, Sumaia H Alwan³, Shaden M Alabood³, Ruba M Alsharif³

Affiliations

¹ Department of Orthodontics, Faculty of Dentistry, Riyadh Elm University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
² Faculty of Dentistry, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
³ Faculty of Dentistry, King Khalid University, Abha, Saudi Arabia.

Abstract

Objective: This study aims to identify the motivations behind orthodontic re-treatment in Saudi Arabia.

Materials and methods: This is a cross-sectional study performed through a patient questionnaire. The questionnaire elicited data on the respondents' socio-demographic data, type of previous orthodontic treatment, retention, satisfaction level, and reasons for undergoing orthodontic re-treatment.

Results: Four hundred and nineteen responses were received during the study period from June to July 2022. The result showed a pre-dominant female predilection (83, 29%), with the majority belonging to the 21-25 age group (47.26%). Most participants had had one previous orthodontic treatment (77%), with an active treatment time of approximately 1-3 years (55.85%). There was no significant difference between the satisfaction of outcomes after the initial treatment and at the time of the survey. Most participants received retention appliances (69.45%) and were informed about the importance of appliances. The type of retention was mainly removable retainers (47.5%). Around one-third of the sample (31.98%) were interested in seeking orthodontic re-treatment, with self-motivation as the primary drive and improving the smile as the predominant reason.

Conclusion: The study's findings show that a large portion of the population is seeking orthodontic re-treatment, which must be considered. Self-motivation was a driving force rather than external motivation. The most common reason for seeking orthodontic re-treatment was to improve their smile and the increased esthetic demand.

Keywords: Orthodontic re-treatment; relapse; retainer.