ACCEPTANCE TOWARDS SPACE MAINTAINER IN PAEDIATRIC POPULATION WITH PREMATURE PRIMARY TOOTH LOSS- AN INSTITUTIONAL STUDY

Abstract

Space maintainers are the most commonly used appliance for interceptive
orthodontics. Space maintainer is mainly used when there is premature loss of
deciduous molar to eliminate or reduce the severity of developing malocclusion. The
aim of this study was to evaluate the acceptance of space maintainer in pediatric
patients undergoing extraction of early loss of primary teeth. This study included
children below the age of 9 years, both male and female, reported to Saveetha Dental
College between June 2019 to March 2020 with the history of primary tooth
extraction. Inclusion criteria included pediatric patients below 9 years of age who
were indicated for space maintainers. Exclusion criteria included adult patients,
medically-compromised patients, patients with special care needs and patients with
congenital missing teeth. A total of around 1700 patient records were reviewed and
analyzed for the inclusion criteria and the following parameters were gathered;
patients' age, gender, patients acceptance towards space maintainer and type of space
maintainer given. Data was recorded in Microsoft Office Excel (2013) and analyzed
using SPSS Software Version 26.0. Chi-square test was done to find out correlation
between variables. Significant level test was set at p<0.05. The results proved that a
total of 702 children indicated for space maintainers. Acceptance of space maintainer
was observed in 10.3% of patients. Statistically significant association was found in
acceptance of space maintainer between age groups (p<0.05). Within the limits of
this study, it is concluded that 10.3% acceptance of space maintainer was found
among patients. Children with 6 years of age had a favorable acceptance towards
space maintainers. The deleterious effect in non acceptance space maintainer and
awareness