Prevalence of usage of various removable appliances among undergraduate dental students in a private dental college.

The aim of the present study was to assess the prevalence of usage of various removable appliances among undergraduate dental students in private dental colleges. Ethical approval for the study was obtained from the Institutional Review Board of Saveetha Institute of Medical and Technical Sciences, Chennai, India. A dental record of patients was investigated. Data evaluation was completed and entered into Microsoft Excel. Gender distribution among the cohorts was assessed. The most commonly used appliance is Hawley's appliance (61), followed by Essix retainer (25), Begg's wrap-around retainer (23), Hawley's appliance with tongue crib (16), cantilever spring (7), splint (7), and T spring (1), respectively. The majority of the females (36) took Hawley's appliance. The difference was not statistically significant between both the arches and between the male and female population. Hawley's appliance is the most commonly used removable appliance among dental graduates.