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 (treated, 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 a 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.