engleski

Malocclusion - related quality of life in population with high aesthetic and funtional expectations

Objectives: The objective of this study was to explore the correlation between the malocclusion severity and the oral health – related quality of life, and the differences in quality of life among various grades of malocclusion in a population with high expectations concerning smile aesthetics and oral function like dental students. Materials and Methods: The sample consisted of 130 dental students from School of Medicine University of Rijeka, Croatia, aged 19-26. For a clinical assessment of the malocclusion severity Index of Orthodontic Treatment Need - Dental Health Component (IOTN – DHC) was used, and for the assessment of quality of life three validated psychometric instruments were used: the croatian version of Oral Health Impact Profile (OHIP-14 CRO), Orthognatic Quality of Life Questionnaire (OQLQ) and Psychosocial Impact of Dental Aesthetic Questionnaire (PIDAQ). Spearman correlation coefficient, Kruskal-Wallis and Mann-Whitney tests were used for statistical analysis. Results: The severity of malocclusion did not signifantly correlate with the quality of life evaluated by the OQLQ and most of the OHIP dimensions, but it did positively correlate with psychological disability of OHIP (r=0.24 ; p=0.016), social impact (r=0.29 ; p=0.006), psychological impact (r=0.27 ; p=0.009), and esthetic concern of PIDAQ (r=0.22 ; p<0.034). Increased severity of malocclusion was associated with increased prevalence and intensity of the impacts on these aspects of quality of life. Correlation was statisticaly significant but weak. However, only the psycological impact dimension differed significantly (p=0.003) between various grades of malocclusion, in general between the no / minor malocclusion and severe malocclusion grade (median severity score 2 vs. 6, respectively). Conclusion: It seems that even in a population with high expectations concerning smile aesthetics and oral function malocclusion severity poorely correlate with OHRQoL dimensions. Malocclusions have greater impact on psychosocial aspect of quality of life than on disfunction, discomfort and disability attributed to malocclusions.

malocclusion; quality of life; aesthetics

Special prize by the Croatian Dental Chamber