Psychosocial Impact of Malocclusion and Self-Perceived Orthodontic Treatment Need among Young Adult Dental Patients

Abstract

Objectives To investigate the psychosocial impact of malocclusion and self-rated and clinician-rated orthodontic treatment need on young adult patients in the Western Province of Saudi Arabia. Materials and Methods Eighteen- to 30-year-old patients (n=355) attending a tertiary dental care facility were included. Three instruments were used for data collection: (1) Psychosocial Impact of Dental Aesthetic Questionnaire (PIDAQ), (2) aesthetic component of the Index of Orthodontic Treatment Need (IOTN-AC), self-rated and clinician-rated, and (3) clinician-rated Dental Aesthetic Index (DAI). Data analysis included descriptive statistics, Kruskal–Wallis test, Mann–Whitney U-test, and multiple linear regression analysis. Results Females were significantly more impacted than males on all domains with the exception of the dental self-consciousness domain. For both the self-rated and clinician-rated IOTN and the DAI, it was found that the more severe the malocclusion, the higher the impact on all domains except for the dental self-confidence domain, which showed that patients with mild malocclusions were more affected than those with moderate and severe malocclusions. Significant associations were observed between independent variables (age, sex, self-rated IOTN, and DAI) and total PIDAQ score. Conclusions Perceived psychosocial impact of dental aesthetics is directly related to severity of malocclusion (self-rated and clinician-rated) for all domains of the PIDAQ accept the DSC, and females showed higher psychosocial impact than males. Clinicians should consider the impact of malocclusion and certain demographic characteristics on the psychosocial well-being of an individual when determining the orthodontic treatment need.

Body Image and Psychological Impact of Dental Appearance in Adolescents with Malocclusion: A Preliminary Exploratory Study

“…Similarly, consistent with the literature, dissatisfaction, body image concerns, quality of life, and mental health appeared to represent serious issues among dental patients [86][87][88][89][90]. Considering the psychosocial impact of malocclusion on adolescents and adult subjects, recent studies confirmed the negative role of malocclusion and other dental problems [91][92][93][94][95]. Subsequent psychosocial issues affect subjects' quality of life and undermine mental health.…”

Translation and Validation of the Albanian Version of the Psychosocial Impact of Dental Aesthetics Questionnaire in Kosovo

“…The same results were presented by Gassem Ben et al showing that extent of malocclusion of young adults was directly correlated with the perceived psychosocial impact of dental aesthetics. 18…”

Evaluation of Unbiased Opinions Related to Orthodontic Treatment Decision-Making Using a Simplified Malocclusion Index: A Cross Sectional Study Within Two Tribal Populations With No Prior Treatment History

“…On one hand, there were respondents who felt a need for treatment on account of esthetic insufficiency and such candidates were probably the most appropriate for orthodontic treatment as is commonly commented upon in literature. 47, 48 On the other hand were the respondents who indicated an interest in treatment in spite of a high esthetic self-esteem. The final responses chosen for analysis comprised both of candidates with poor esthetic self-esteem in what could be perceived as a genuine need for treatment and also candidates with high enough esthetic self-esteem for whom treatment could probably be considered only necessary if the clinical judgment indicated a normative need for orthodontic correction based on a minor degree of malocclusion that could be corrected yielding improvement upon the existing scenario.…”