Background:

adequate oral hygiene is necessary in patients who wear orthodontic appliances.

Objective:

to identify knowledge, attitudes, practices and oral hygiene in patients with orthodontic appliances.

Methods:

a study with a non-experimental, descriptive and cross-sectional design was carried out in the Provincial Teaching Dentistry Clinic of Sancti Spíritus in the period between September 2018 and July 2019. Methods from the theoretical, empirical (survey, interview and observation) and statistical level were used. The population consisted of 30 patients from this institution with orthodontic treatment. The measured variables were: age and sex of the patient, type of orthodontic appliance, level of knowledge about oral health, attitude and oral hygiene practices of the patient, frequency, form and efficiency of tooth brushing, as well as brushing or not after the ingestion of sugary foods.

Results:

100% of the patients presented poor knowledge about oral health and unfavorable practices, although favorable attitudes were found in 63.3% of the patients. Regular oral hygiene predominated in the population studied before starting treatment and after installing the appliances, similarly in the groups with removable, functional and fixed appliances.

Conclusions:

the studied population patients need education to acquire sufficient knowledge to maintain healthy attitudes, practices and oral hygiene.

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