Severe malocclusion and oral health-related quality of life in adolescents aged 12-15 years.

INTRODUCTION

Malocclusion is a public health problem. The evidence of its impact on quality of life is contradictory and requires further studies.

OBJECTIVE

The aim of this study was to estimate the prevalence of severe malocclusion and its impact on oral health-related quality of life in schoolchildren aged 12-15 years.

METHODS

A cross-sectional study was conducted with a probabilistic sample of 391 students. A sociodemographic questionnaire was used to collect information regarding the family context. The presence of malocclusion was assessed using the Dental Aesthetic Index (DAI), and oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL) was analyzed using the Oral Health Impact Profile (OHIP). A descriptive and bivariate analysis of data was carried out. Multivariate Poisson regression models were used. The significance level adopted was 5%.

RESULTS

The prevalence of severe malocclusion was 37.6%, being 8.4% higher in the group aged 12-13 years (95%CI=1.48-2.29; p=0.034); and 11.2% higher (95%CI %=1.43-2.06; p=0.020) among those who perceived that their teeth were poorly positioned. Severe malocclusion was not associated with OHRQoL (p=0.686).

CONCLUSIONS

The psychological discomfort, social disability and psychological disability domains had a negative impact on OHRQoL. However, there was no negative impact of severe malocclusion on OHRQoL.