Bullying in orthodontic patients and its relationship to malocclusion, self-esteem and oral health-related quality of life

Abstract

Significant relationships exist between bullying and certain occlusal traits, self-esteem and OHRQoL.

What is the value of orthodontic treatment?

“…47,48,50 Teasing or bullying of young people due to the appearance of their teeth has been reported frequently in the literature, from many different societies and cultures. [51][52][53][54][55][56][57] Victims are particularly concerned when they are teased about the appearance of their teeth 51 and orthodontic treatment can help to alleviate this. 58 Research is now focussed on ways of measuring the physical, functional, emotional and social impacts of conditions s daily life through the various concepts of quality of life, health and oral health-related quality of life.…”

Bullying in schoolchildren – its relationship to dental appearance and psychosocial implications: an update for GDPs

“…This question was recently investigated by Seehra and co-workers. 56 In this cross-sectional study a cohort of children aged between 10 and 14 years with an untreated malocclusion were given questionnaires which measured the selfreported frequency and severity of bullying, the individual's self-esteem and oral health-related quality of life. Orthodontic treatment need and malocclusion severity were assessed using IOTN.…”

“…60 In bullied individuals it may be the case that a clear cause-and-effect relationship is not present and that a combination of factors act synergistically to cause a negative impact on an individual's psychosocial wellbeing. 56 Currently the severity and need of orthodontic treatment within the UK is judged on occlusal and aesthetic impairment without consideration of psychosocial factors. It may be the case that the latter should be incorporated into current and future indices or at least considered, despite limitations of validation and reproducibility.…”

Cárie Dentária e Necessidade de Tratamento Ortodôntico: Impacto na Qualidade de Vida de Escolares

“…De acordo com estudo realizado no Reino Unido com indivíduos de dez a 14 anos, há associação significativa entre problemas oclusais, qualidade e vida e bullying, ressaltando-se a importância da condição bucal no bemestar das crianças 17 . Esta avaliação não foi realizada no presente estudo, mas sugere-se que entre as crianças examinadas possa haver relatos de bullying associados à aparência oriunda de maloclusões, o que afeta a qualidade de vida.…”