بررسی انگیزه و تمایل اقدام به درمان ارتودنسی دربیماران دارای مال اکلوژن مراجعه کننده به مراکز درمانی تخصصی شهر اصفهان در سال 1392

Introduction: Patients' motivation and orthodontic clinician's opinion are effective factors in decisions to initiate orthodontic treatment. Understanding motivations, maintaining them and enhancing them, if necessary, are crucial for successful orthodontic outcomes. The aim of this study was to investigate motivations and tendencies toward orthodontic treatment in patients with malocclusion referring to professional care centers in Isfahan in 2013. Materials and methods: In this analytical cross-sectional study, a valid and reliable questionnaire was used to elicit information from 180 patients aged 15‒25. The questionnaire included demographic section, patients' motivation for and barriers to orthodontic treatment. Data were analyzed with descriptive, non-parametric and chi-squared tests using SPSS 16 (α=0.05). Results: The patients’ level of motivation was determined as high (2.4±0.4). Aesthetic motivation gained the highest scores (2.8±0.4), followed by functional (2.4±0.4) and social motivations (2.3±0.6). The overall level of motivation and functional motivation were significantly higher in males compared to females (p value < 0.05). Tendency toward orthodontic treatment was at a moderate level, with no significant gender differences (p value = 0.73). The first and second most important sources of motivation were the patients themselves and parents’ advice, respectively .77.1% and 14.1% of patients reported cost and long treatment duration as the main barriers to orthodontic care. Conclusion: This study showed that the overall motivation of patients for orthodontic treatment was high and aesthetics was the most important aspect of motivation. Further studies are recommended to evaluate personal motivation in relation to the type and severity of malocclusion. Key words: Malocclusion, Motivation, Orthodontics, Treatment.