Objective:

The study aimed to evaluate the relationship between orthodontic treatment complexity and oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL) and to assess the impact of malocclusion and orthodontic treatment on OHRQoL in orthodontic patients with regard to gender and age.

Methods:

This prospective clinical study included 102 patients aged 13-35 years who were referred to the orthodontic department. The impact of orthodontic treatment complexity was assessed using the Index of Complexity, Outcome and Need (ICON). The Turkish version of the Oral Health Impact Profile (OHIP-14) was used to examine the subjects for OHRQoL before and after treatment. The before and after treatment data (T1 and T2, respectively) were tested using a paired t-test, and one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) with the Bonferroni test was used to assess the differences in OHIP-14 across groups, as defined by the ICON. The cross-sectional comparisons between genders and age groups before and after treatment were tested using the Student’s t-test. The level of significance was set to a p value of 0.05.

Results:

Patients with moderate treatment complexity reported a significantly negative impact on the psychological disability domain compared to the difficult treatment complexity. OHRQoL improved after treatment. Females showed statistically significant and highest scores on the physical pain domain compared to males. Adults showed a statistically significant negative impact on the psychological domains before treatment as well as a statistically significant positive impact on the psychological disability domain after treatment compared to adolescents (p<0.05).

Conclusion:

Orthodontic treatment improves OHRQoL, and orthodontic treatment complexity does not seem to have an impact on OHRQoL.

Keywords: Oral health-related quality of life, treatment complexity, ICON, OHIP-14, orthodontic treatment, malocclusion