Orthodontic Treatment of Malocclusion and its Impact on Oral Health-Related Quality of Life

OBJECTIVES Malocclusion, though not life-threatening, has vast impact on individual's social interactions and self-esteem. Therefore, the aim of the current study was to assess whether orthodontic treatment of adolescents with malocclusion had any association with their oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL). METHODS The subjects for this study were recruited at a state-funded university clinic. Data were collected from 100 participants aged 17 to 21 with moderate to severe malocclusion. Experimental group comprised of 50 subjects who were in the retention phase of their orthodontic treatment and the control group comprised of 50 untreated subjects. The shortened version of the Oral Health Impacts Profile (OHIP-14) as used to assess the subjects' oral health-related impact. T-test, Kruskal-Wallis, and Mann Whitney tests were used to analyze the data and p-value was set at P < 0.05. RESULTS In general, oral health-related quality of life of all subjects significantly improved after orthodontic treatment. (p<0.001) Subjects with moderate malocclusion showed better improvement than severe malocclusion subjects. (P<0.001). CONCLUSION This study showed that oral health-related quality of life improves with the treatment of malocclusion.