ساناز علیمددی

Considering the fact that insufficient study has been done on the effect of malocclusion on the quality of life and confidence among Iranian children and the high prevalence of malocclusion in the Iranian population, the purpose of this study was to determine the effect of malocclusion on Oral Health Related Quality of life(OHRQoL) in children aged 8-11 in Tabriz in 2020.

Five hundred children aged 8-11 participated in this study. Dental Aesthetic Index (DAI) was used to assess the participants’ malocclusion. Furthermore, the participants answered a standardized questionnaire namely child perception questionnaire to determine their social and emotional well-being in relation to the malocclusion.   Clinical examinations were performed by the same researcher. One way Anova with LSD follow up tests under SPSS18 software for Windows 10 were utilized for analysis of data. P< 0.05 were considered significant. 

The study sample consisted of two groups of 216 boys and 284 girls. The results showed that malocclusion had a statistically significant effect on quality of life related to oral health and emotional health of children.(Pvalue<0.05).  However, malocclusion did not affect the social health of these children.(p value>0.05)

In the present study, the effect of malocclusion on Oral Health Related Quality of Life (OHRQoL) in children aged 8-11 in Tabriz in 2020 was assessed. The results of this study showed malocclusion and its severity has a significant effect on quality of life.  It also had an effect on a person's emotional health, but no significant relationship was found between a person's social health and malocclusion.  Therefore, in general, it seems that malocclusion had a significant effect on the quality of life and emotional health of individuals, but the social health of children is not affected by malocclusion.