Abstract: Objective To investigate the adolescents′ knowledge of malocclusion and their awareness of orthodontic treatment in Lanzhou area. Methods 4981 middle school students from 4 urban districts of Lanzhou city were given a malocclusion investigation, and questionnaires were distributed to the students so that their motivation and consciousness of orthodontic treatment were known. Results In 4981 students, 3168 of them (65.61%) were malocclusion patients, among which 448 were having orthodontic treatment (14.14%). As for the reasons why 2720 patients didn′t have orthodontic treatment, 21.54% didn′t think they had malocclusion, and 20% thought study pressure hindered them from having the treatment. Conclusions The malocclusion rate of adolescents in Lanzhou area is high, while the rate of treatment is low, and the adolescents lack the knowledge of orthodontic treatment.

Key words: adolescent, orthodontic treatment, awareness, survey