Reported changes in oral health-related quality of life in children and adolescents before, during, and after orthodontic treatment: a longitudinal study.

Objectives: To investigate the changes in oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL) before, during, and after orthodontic treatment, determine the relationship with the original treatment need and evaluate the influence of self-esteem (SE).

Materials and methods: OHRQoL questionnaires were used in an ongoing observational prospective cohort study at baseline (T0), 1 year after start (T1), and 1 month after the end of active orthodontic treatment (T2). Participants were 11-16-year-old at baseline and 215 complete cases were obtained from a total of 498. OHRQoL was scored by using the Child Perception Questionnaire (CPQ11-14), SE was assessed by the Dutch adaptation of the Harter's Self-Perception Profile for Adolescents and treatment need was defined by the Index of Orthodontic Treatment Need (IOTN). The Oral Aesthetic Subjective Impact Scale (OASIS) was included to score perceived treatment need. Data were analyzed with Spearman correlation, Mann-Whitney U-test and linear models for longitudinal data.

Results: A significant decrease in IOTN and in OASIS was noted from T0-T1-T2 (P < 0.0001). CPQ results show a decrease from T0 to T2, from T1 to T2 and an increase from T0 to T1 (P < 0.0001). This was valid for the overall CPQ scores and its subdomains except for emotional well-being (EW), which decreases from T0-T1-T2. A correlation was found between baseline SE and the change of total CPQ scores between T0 and T2, also for EW (r = 0.325 and r = 0.354).

Conclusions: OHRQoL ameliorates after orthodontic treatment. High baseline SE works as a protective factor for OHRQoL.