White spot lesion management: Knowledge and practices during fixed orthodontic treatment among Saudi dentist -A cross-sectional study

TL;DR

This study examines how Saudi orthodontists manage white spot lesions during orthodontic treatment and finds they have high knowledge and practice levels.

Contribution

The study provides insights into the knowledge and practices of Saudi orthodontists regarding white spot lesion prevention and treatment.

Findings

70.7% of orthodontists had high knowledge scores regarding white spot lesions.

81.9% of orthodontists demonstrated high practice levels in managing white spot lesions.

Years of experience were significantly associated with higher knowledge levels.

Abstract

White spot lesions (WSLs), a consequence of orthodontic treatment, have a detrimental effect on the aesthetic result of orthodontic
treatment. Therefore, it is of interest to assess knowledge and practice levels of dentists practicing orthodontics regarding the
prevention and treatment of WSLs in Saudi Arabia. Hence, this cross-sectional observational study included 188 orthodontic practitioners
in Saudi Arabia with at least one year of experience utilizing structured electronic questionnaire of 19 closed-ended items. Knowledge
assessment revealed that 133 (70.7%) had high scores and 55 (29.3%) had intermediate scores while in practice assessment, 154 (81.9%)
achieved high scores, while 34 (18.1%) had intermediate scores with most participants having 1-4 years of experience demonstrated high
knowledge (63.4%) and practice (76.8%) levels. Thus, we show that the dentist practicing orthodontics showed high knowledge and practice
regarding the prevention and treatment of white spot lesions with years of experience were significantly associated with the levels of
knowledge.