Abstract
Background: The teaching of orthodontics at an undergraduate level is not comprehensive and lacks clinic practice compared to the other dental specialties. The current study aimed to assess the perception and knowledge levels of undergraduate dental students toward orthodontic treatment.
Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among undergraduate dental students in the Qassim region, Saudi Arabia. A questionnaire consisting of 12 closed-ended questions was prepared and distributed as a Google form. The knowledge scores were based on the responses to five questions, while the perception scores were based on the answers to seven statements. The statistical differences between two consecutive academic years were assessed using a Chi-square test. The p-value was set at <0.05.
Results: A total of 250 undergraduate dental students completed the questionnaire, among them 132 were males, and 116 were females. The knowledge level of second-year students was significantly higher in Q1 and Q2 than first-year students. Also, fourth-year students were more knowledgeable than third-year students in Q2. Additionally, fifth-year students showed significantly better knowledge than fourth-year students in Q3, Q4, and Q5. Also, first-year students showed a significantly higher perception in Q11 than second- and fourth-year students showed better perception than the fifth-year students in Q8.
Conclusion: The knowledge about orthodontic treatment was generally high among the current sample. Also the perception of students towards orthodontic treatment was favorable.

Key words: Attitude, esthetics, malocclusion, orthodontic