The impact of malocclusions and orthodontic treatments on a patient's quality of life.

Abstract

Aim: This study aimed to compare the variations in patients’ perception of oral health related quality of life (OHRQoL), using the Moroccan version of PIDAQ, before and after orthodontic treatment among patients with the same initial PAR Index score, age and gender. Methods: In this study, 67 participants were divided into 2 groups. Group A (normal, control group) consisted of 30 patients who received orthodontic treatment; group B comprised of 37 patients who were either at the initiation stage of treatment or potential candidates. The matching of group A and group B was achieved by reaching a compromise between PAR index score, age and gender. The assessment of the psychosocial impact of malocclusion was carried out using the Moroccan version of PIDAQ. The Chi-square test was used to establish associations between qualitative variables. Levene and Mann Whitney's tests were employed to determine the associations between quantitative variables. Results: The age of the patients ranges from 7 to 58 years, with an mean age of 23 years +/_10. 22. While 41 subjects (61.2%) consulted for aesthetic reasons, 26 subjects (38.8%) consulted for a functional reason. The distribution of scores of the two groups before and after orthodontic intervention showed no significant difference between the mean scores of the four PIDAQ domains. Conclusion: The results of our study showed a significant improvement in the psychosocial impact of malocclusion when comparing the two case-control groups, with a reduction in the perceived needs of patients who completed orthodontic treatment.