Objective To explore the effect of the knowledge-attitude-practice model combined with oral specialized nursing on cognitive degree of malocclusion and oral health status in adolescent orthodontics patients. Methods A total of 80 adolescent orthodontics patients admitted to the 940th Hospital of the Joint Logistic Support Force from May 2023 to June 2024 were selected as the research subjects. According to the random number table method, they were divided into the control group and the observation group, with 40 patients in each group. The control group received conventional oral specialized nursing, and the observation group received the knowledge-attitude-practice model combined with oral specialized nursing. The cognitive degree of malocclusion, gingival index, dental plaque index, compliance, complication rate were compared between the two groups. Results After intervention, the scores of each dimension and the total score of the cognitive degree of malocclusion in the observation group were higher than those in the control group (P <0.05). The gingival index and dental plaque index in the observation group were lower than those in the control group (P <0.05). The compliance of follow-up visits, oral hygiene and diet in the observation group were higher than those in the control group (P <0.05). The incidence of complications in the observation group was lower than that in the control group (P <0.05). Conclusion The knowledge-attitude-practice model combined with oral specialized nursing can effectively improve the cognitive degree of malocclusion among adolescent orthodontics patients, enhance compliance, improve oral health status, reduce the incidence of complications.