engleski

Psihosocial impact of malocclusion among Kosovar adolescents

Epidemiological studies on malocclusion demonstrate that malocclusion has a high prevalence rate. Various studies show that, apart from oral diseases, malocclusion affects quality of life, specifically dimensions of emotional and social wellbeing, thus investigation of the impact of malocclusion in psychosocial aspects among adolescents is of great importance. The aim of this research was threefold: to evaluate the psychosocial impact of malocclusion, to determine its relationship with the severity of malocclusion, and to assess the influence of gender and age in this relationship in Kosovar adolescents. 400 adolescents aged 12-15, with similar distribution regarding the gender and age and with minor to severe malocclusion, were included in the study. One investigator, who was already trained and calibrated in the usage of the dental health DHC and esthetic component AC of Index of Orthodontic Treatment Need (IOTN) and dental esthetics index (DAI), assessed a subject’s orthodontic treatment needs. Psychosocial impact of dental esthetics questionnaire (PIDAQ) was used to evaluate the psychosocial impact of malocclusion. PIDAQ was used as dependent variable, whereas dental aesthetic index (DAI), dental health (DHC) and aesthetic component (AC) of Index of Orthodontic Treatment Need (IOTN), gender and age were used as independent predictive variables. The sample was divided in three categories according to IOTN DHC (Grade 1 and 2, Grade 3, Grade 4 and 5) , three categories according to IOTN AC ( Grade 1, 2, 3 Grade 4, 5, 6, 7 and Grade 8, 9, 10) and two categories according to DAI ( DAI ≤25 and DAI ≥25). There were significant differences in dental self- confidence, social impact, psychological impact, and aesthetic concern subscales across categories of IOTN-DHC, IOTN-AC and DAI p<001. For same severity level, females scored worse compared to males in PIDAQ subscales p<0.01. In terms of age, 12-year-olds had slightly higher scores in Social Impact, Psychological Impact and Aesthetic Concern domains. A significant difference in PIDAQ mean scores among ages was observed only in the Dental Self-confidence subscale, while mean scores in other subscales did not differ significantly among the age groups p<0.05. The results of this study revealed that the adolescents with malocclusion experienced a negative physical and psychological impact on quality of life.

malocclusion ; psychosocial well-being ; quality of life ; gender ; age

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