The role of parents in motivation for orthodontic treatment for children

Abstract

One of the main features of orthodontic treatment is the cooperation of the doctor with the patient. Active growth of a child’s organism at the age from 6 to 12 has not only physiological but also psychological aspects of development. Motivation for orthodontic treatment is absent during mixed dentition. Only taking into account the somato-psychological status and the psycho-emotional condition of the patient during the orthodontic treatment allows to choose an optimal treatment option and to predict its effectiveness. The aim: The aim of our study was to increase the motivation for orthodontic treatment for children during the period of mixed dentition by using informative and accessible psychological methods to raise awareness and the role of parents. Materials and methods: 30 patients at the age from 6 to 12 received orthodontic treatment. The treatment contains targeted psychological training, aimed at activating, strengthening and reinforcing the motivation for treatment for children and their parents. Results: The proposed method gives a significant reduction in the percentage of treatment interruption – according to the literature up to 35.7%, in our study – up to 13.4%. The active treatment period decreased by 1.6 times, and the patient’s lack of discipline – by 4 times compared with the control group. There were 2.5 times less undisciplined patients in the experimental group than in the control group. Conclusions: The obtained results testify to the necessity of using psychological methods to increase the motivation for orthodontic treatment for children during the period of mixed dentition