Assessing the Awareness of Parents and Satisfaction of Children with Intraoral Space Maintainers

Background and Aim: Space maintenance is an important process in the mixed dentition as a preventive measure for multiple malocclusion problems related to the loss of arch length. The awareness of parents and the satisfaction of children are two critical factors determining the efficacy of space maintainers. The aim of this study was to assess the level of parents’ awareness of space maintainers in their children’s oral cavity and the level of their children’s satisfaction with these appliances. Materials and Methods: In the present descriptive-analytical study, a questionnaire was completed by 200 elementary school children, aged 6-12 years old, and by their parents, which was consisted of four main categories: 1) demographic data, 2) parents’ occupation and educational level, 3) parents’ awareness of the uses and maintenance of space maintainers, 4) children’s satisfaction with space maintainers. Data collected from these questionnaires were analyzed in Stata 14 software. The significance level was set at P<0.05. Results: The mean awareness score of the parents was 57%, with no significant relationship with their educational level or occupation (P=0.819). The mean score of the children's satisfaction was 74%; however, the satisfaction significantly decreased with age (P=0.05). There was a significant correlation between children's satisfaction and the type of space maintainer (P=0.0001). Conclusion: The level of awareness of parents about the usage, maintenance, and advantages of space maintainers was average, whereas the satisfaction of children with the usage, maintenance, and comfort of space maintainers was high.