Comparative evaluation of the impact of the evolution of fixed orthodontic treatment on the quality of life of adults and adolescents: a seccional study
International Journal of Development Research
Comparative evaluation of the impact of the evolution of fixed orthodontic treatment on the quality of life of adults and adolescents: a seccional study
Received 10th August, 2021; Received in revised form 16th September, 2021; Accepted 20th October, 2021; Published online 23rd November, 2021
Copyright © 2021, Marcelo de Melo Quintela et al. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Oral health related to quality of life (QL) is one of the issues that have recently been highlighted in epidemiological studies. Today, the level of demand of the patients has increased in terms of the desire to improve aesthetics and psychological well-being. It is noteworthy that the human face and smile are fundamental elements of expression, identity and analysis of physical attraction and emotions. Therefore, malocclusion can adversely affect social interaction and psychological well-being.The aim of this study was to comparatively verify the influence of orthodontics on the perception of adults and adolescents in relation to occlusal and esthetic alterations, pain thresholds, social impacts and perception of quality of life.Three hundred eighty-eight (388) individuals of both genders, aged between 9 and 55 years, attending the Postgraduate Clinic in Orthodontics, Dentistry College, Universidade Metropolitana de Santos (SP), were invited to participate in the research. All patients were using fixed orthodontic appliances, in up to five different phases of treatment.One hundred and fifty patients answered the questionnaire and the experiment was divided into two age groups: adolescents and adults. Theselected questionnaires, validated in Portuguese, to measure the influence of orthodontic treatment on Quality of Live (QoL), were the PIDAQ and the OHIP-14. To compare the Adult and Adolescent groups in terms of treatment times (T1 – T5), a non-parametric Mann-Whitney test was performed (comparisons 2 to 2), with an overall significance level of 5%.Regarding adults, there were more negative impacts than in adolescents, showing greater variations. Higher growth was demonstrated in relation to QoLand self-confidence in adults at the beginning of the treatment, highlighting the aesthetic concern. It can be concluded that the fixed orthodontic appliance greatly influences the lives of individuals, particularly adults, especially in social aspects, aesthetics and quality of life.
