Awareness of deleterious oral habits and knowledge of habit breaking appliance among parents in Alkharj - A cross sectional study

Background: Actions that are repetitive and being practiced automatically are called habits. Oral habits can be classified as normal or deleterious. Oral health education starts from footprints of awareness. Growing children require appropriate guidance for healthy growth and maintenance of their teeth, which makes the parent an active participant in the prevention and treatment of malocclusion and thus is majorly affected by their knowledge and attitude regarding various deleterious oral habits and habit breaking appliances. Aim: To assess and compare awareness of deleterious oral habits and knowledge of habit breaking appliance, among parents at Alkharj Saudi Arabia. Methodology: Study assessed awareness of deleterious oral habits and knowledge of habit breaking appliances among parents in Alkharj, Saudi Arabia. Conclusion: Results: Majority of the parents were aware of different deleterious oral habits but not aware of the dimensions of interventions like types of appliances, duration of use, etc. without knowing mentioned facts, in future which leads to development of malocclusion which probably requires orthodontic, surgical or prosthetic intervention correcting the outcomes of oral deleterious habits.