Perception of parents and caregivers regarding the impact of malocclusion on adolescents' quality of life: a cross-sectional study

Cross-Bite and Oral-Health-Related Quality of Life (OHRQoL) in Preadolescents Aged 11 to 14 Years Old: A Pilot Case-Control Study

INTRODUCTION

Malocclusions have a negative impact on oral-health-related quality of life (OHRQoL). Posterior cross-bite is one of the most prevalent malocclusions in the preadolescent population. This study investigated the influence of posterior cross-bites (unilateral or bilateral) on OHRQoL in an 11- to 14-year-old population.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

A pilot case-control study was carried out at the Dental Clinic of the University of Salamanca between 2021 and 2023. A consecutive sample of 120 preadolescent patients aged 11 to 14 years old was recruited. Three groups were analyzed: a control group (no posterior cross-bite) (n = 40), a group with unilateral posterior cross-bite (n = 40), and a group with bilateral posterior cross-bite (n = 40). To analyze the OHRQoL, the Spanish version of the Child Perception Questionnaire (CPQ-Esp11-14) was used.

RESULTS

The mean age of the sample was 12.2 years old (±0.96 years). The group of patients with a bilateral posterior cross-bite was shown to have higher scores in all dimensions of the CPQ-Esp11-14, as well as a higher total score. Sex only influenced the oral symptom dimension of the CPQ-Esp11-14 questionnaire; in this dimension, the girls described a greater impact. Age did not influence OHRQoL.

CONCLUSION

The presence of a posterior cross-bite had a negative impact on OHRQoL in the preadolescent population that was studied.

Agreement between schoolchildren and their parents on rating the child's oral health-related quality of life

The perceptions of parents/caregivers regarding their children's oral health can influence the standard of care and decision-making regarding oral health. The children's perspective on their own oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL) may differ from the parents/caregivers' views. This cross-sectional study aimed to analyze the agreement between the perceptions of parents/caregivers and schoolchildren regarding OHRQoL. It was conducted with a sample of children between 8 and 11 years old and their parents/caregivers from Pelotas. Children answered the Child Perceptions Questionnaire 8-10 (CPQ), and parents/caregivers answered the short form of the Parental-Caregiver Perceptions Questionnaire (P-CPQ). Socioeconomic data were also collected. Children's dental caries, traumatic dental injuries, and malocclusions were examined. The Spearman's correlation test was performed. A total of 119 parents/caregivers-children pairs were included. There was an agreement between the total scores of parents/caregivers and children (0.2770; p = 0.003), in the oral symptoms (0.1907; p = 0.038), and functional limitations (0.2233; p=0.015) domains. The Bland-Altman graph showed an agreement between children's and parents/caregivers' OHRQoL total score, but there was an underestimation of approximately two points in the parents/caregivers' perception compared to the children's score. There was an agreement between the reports of parents/caregivers and children regarding children's OHRQoL.

Can malocclusion among children impact their oral health-related quality of life? parents' perspective

Background and Aim

Malocclusion can negatively impact the quality of life of children. Therefore, this study assesses the impact of proxy-reported malocclusion and oral health-related quality of life among children in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, from the parents or guardians' perspectives.

Materials and Methods

A self-administered electronic questionnaire was used to assess the correlation between proxy-reported malocclusion conditions during the early mixed dentition stage (children age 6-12 years) and oral health-related quality of life using the OHIP-14 measure. All collected data were analyzed using SPSS.

Results

Among the 353 participants in the study, anterior open-bite was the most common proxy-reported malocclusion with a prevalence of 19%, followed by unilateral posterior cross bite (13.3%). Furthermore, 31% reported that their children sometimes experienced negative impacts on quality of life from malocclusions. The results also show that OHIP-14 scores were significantly associated with all proxy-reported malocclusion (p < 0.05). The highest OHIP-14 score was found to be significantly associated with the presence of deep-bite from parents' or guardians' perspective.

Conclusion

The presence of some proxy-assessed malocclusion was associated with negative impacts on children's oral health-related quality of life. This is very important to consider when assessing the need for orthodontic intervention, especially at this stage as this age is critical in building a child's confidence and self-esteem.

Impact of Dental Aesthetic Index characteristics on the severity levels of malocclusion in a non-White population

INTRODUCTION

This study evaluated the impact of the esthetic and occlusal characteristics of the Dental Aesthetic Index (DAI) on the need for orthodontic treatment in a non-White population.

METHODS

A cross-sectional study was conducted with 1296 non-White adolescents aged 12 years. DAI was the outcome variable (DAI 1 and 2 and DAI 3 and 4). The independent variables were categorized on the basis of the occlusal esthetic characteristics evaluated by DAI (tooth absence, crowding, spacing, midline diastema, maxillary misalignment, mandibular misalignment, maxillary anterior overjet, mandibular overjet, anterior open bite, and anteroposterior molar relationship). Simple logistic regression models were adjusted for the outcome, and the raw odds ratios were estimated. Variables with a P value of <0.20 for individual analyses were tested in a multiple logistic regression model, with P ≤0.05 remaining.

RESULTS

A total of 1296 adolescents (764 girls and 532 boys) were evaluated; 1067 (82.3%) had DAI 1 or 2 (minor to a moderate need for orthodontic treatment), and 229 (17.7%) had DAI 3 or 4 (defined need for orthodontic treatment). The results showed that adolescents with diastema, maxillary irregularity, mandibular irregularity, mandibular overjet, anterior open bite, and the altered molar relationship had 5.34, 2.36, 2.63, 3.56, 8.73, and 5.16 times more likelihood to have DAI 3 or 4 (P ≤0.05), respectively.

CONCLUSIONS

Diastema, maxillary and mandibular misalignment, mandibular overjet, anterior open bite, and anteroposterior molar relationship were the characteristics that influenced the determination of the need for orthodontic treatment in a non-White population using the DAI index.

Malocclusion-Related Quality of Life Questionnaire (MRQoLQ): Development and validation of a new psychometric tool for older adolescents with malocclusion

OBJECTIVE

To develop and validate a new psychometric tool for assessing malocclusion-related quality of life among older Indian adolescents.

METHODS

Item generation involved analysis of existing validated tools, followed by development of new items using various qualitative steps. A draft item pool of 41 questions was initially generated and subjected to item reduction through sequential steps involving two clinical studies to ensure reliability and validity. 431 subjects aged between 15 to 18 years took part in the validation study. Principal component analysis with varimax rotation was performed to get a psychometric tool with good factorial structure and maximum variance.

RESULTS

Rotated component matrix resulted in a 20 item psychometric tool containing 4 domains with a total variance of 61.57%. Inter item, item total correlation and Cronbach α (α = 0.88) ensured good reliability. A positive correlation of the scale with global question ensured convergent validity. Independent t test showed statistically significant difference (p< 0.05) between mean score of IOTN-DHC and DAI with MRQoLQ, ensuring good construct validity.

CONCLUSIONS

The newly developed psychometric tool is named as Malocclusion-Related Quality of Life Questionnaire (MRQoLQ) having 20 questions, including 2 socioeconomic items. The scale showed good reliability and initial validity, hence can be used among older adolescents with malocclusion to assess their malocclusion-related quality of life.

The relationship between oral health-related quality of life, the need for orthodontic treatment and bullying, among Brazilian teenagers

INTRODUCTION

Orthodontic treatment aims at oral health and restoration of function as main objectives, however, psychological and social effects end up being the main reason for the demand for treatment.

OBJECTIVE

To determine the association between the oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL), the need for orthodontic treatment and bullying among Brazilian teenagers.

METHODS

This was a cross-sectional epidemiological study. To assess the malocclusion, the Dental Aesthetic Index was used. And the Oral Health Impact Profile-14 was used to analyze the OHRQoL. The Kidscape questionnaire was used to investigate cases of bullying. The following variables were also included: previous orthodontic treatment and a desire to fix the teeth to improve one's appearance. Multivariate analysis was performed using logistic regression considering the poor OHRQoL as a response variable.

RESULTS

815 teenagers participated in the study. There was a statistically significant association between oral health-related quality of life and the variables: previous orthodontic treatment (p= 0.0270), desire to fix the teeth (p< 0.0001), sex (p= 0.0309), history of being a victim of bullying (p< 0.0001), frequency of bullying episodes (p= 0.0170), and consequences of bullying (p< 0.0001). The following were considered as risk factors for poor OHRQoL: lack of previous orthodontic treatment (OR = 2.191) and negative consequences of bullying (OR = 3.042).

CONCLUSION

The need for orthodontic treatment was not associated with the OHRQoL; however, bullying and previous orthodontic treatment had a statistically significant association with this variable.