Impact of primary dentition malocclusion on the oral health-related quality of life in preschoolers

Abstract

Background Malocclusion is a condition frequently seen in primary dentition due to the interaction of environmental, genetic and behavioural factors. The occurrence of some types of malocclusions can have an impact on oral health-related quality of life in children. Hence, the present study aimed to verify the impact of primary dentition malocclusion on oral health-related quality of life in preschool children. Methods A population-based cross-sectional study was conducted in Florianopolis, Brazil, with a representative sample of 1050 preschoolers aged between 2 and 5 years, randomly selected. Parents answered the Brazilian version of the Early Childhood Oral Health Impact Scale and also to a questionnaire on socio-economic indicators. Data obtained from the questionnaire were obtained by item response theory based on model of gradual response. The malocclusion assessed was: anterior open bite, increased overjet and posterior crossbite. Poisson regression model was employed for multivariate analysis (P < 0.05). Results Malocclusion was observed in 36.7% of the children. Of these, 11.4% were anterior open bite, 67.2% were increased overjet, and 21.4% were posterior crossbite. Malocclusion's impact on oral health-related quality of life was 28.6%. In children aged 4–5 years, the prevalence of malocclusion’s impact on quality of life was 49.5% higher than in children aged 2–3 years. Statistical analysis showed that preschool children with malocclusion showed no significant impact on quality of life. Conclusions The findings of the present study indicate that the occurrence of primary dentition malocclusion has no impact on the quality of life of children aged 2–5 years.

Malocclusion and Quality of Life in Children Aged 3 to 5 Years in Salvador-BA

“…In this study, the most frequently reported discomforts in the B-ECOHIS by parents/guardians were: pain in the teeth, mouth or jaws and difficulty in ingesting food and liquids. Such findings are similar to those reported by Corrêa Faria, et al (2015) and Vasconcelos, et al (2021), the latter only did not report difficulty in ingesting liquids and food, but highlighted an impairment in the pronunciation of words [7,20]. Such alterations are more evident to parents or guardians than aesthetic impairments, since they densely interfere with function [20].…”

“…Furthermore, the completion of the instrument is carried out by the parents/guardians. From this, the results suffer interference from the parents' perception regarding the very definition of malocclusion with the concept of OHRQOL [3,7,9,16]. This is because the presence of pain can be a determining factor for parents or guardians to perceive problems oral cavity in children, which does not usually occur in malocclusion [17].…”

“…Kramer, et al (2013), identified a statistically significant association between the presence of malocclusion and SOQR in children aged 2-5 years [14]. However, the literature is still controversial in this regard, also showing a non-statistically significant relationship between malocclusion and the OHRQL in preschool children [7,9,15].…”

“…According to the last national oral health survey with results released in the country, SB BRASIL 2010, 5-year-old children had a prevalence of 23% of class II and III, and 66.7% of 5-year-old children had at least 1 condition of malocclusion, which is the third most prevalent oral condition in Brazil [6]. The prevalence of malocclusion in the preschool age group in Brazil has been described in the literature by values ranging from 36.7% to 58.3% [7][8][9][10].…”

Bimaxillary fixed implant-supported zirconium oxide prosthesis therapy of an adolescent patient with non-syndromic oligodontia and two WNT10 variants: case report

“…The consequences of missing teeth include prolonged retention of primary teeth, infraocclusion, ankylosis, unstable occlusion, microdontia, or conical teeth 23 , 26 . According to the International Statistical Classification of Diseases for Epidemiological Purposes, dental agenesis is recognized as the failure of the tooth germ to develop and, in addition to oligodontia, is classified as hypodontia, partial anodontia, or complete anodontia 27 .…”