Need for orthodontic treatment in a sample of Ecuadorian adolescents from Cojitambo, 2017

Aim: To determine the need for orthodontic treatment in Ecuadorian adolescents aged 13 to 18 years in Cojitambo, 2017. Materials and methods: A cross-sectional and descriptive study was made including 140 adolescents aged 13 to 18 years, 50% males. For determining the prevalence of malocclusion, a visual clinical examination was performed to obtain the data required using the Dental Aesthetic Index (DAI). Results: 37.14% of the adolescents presented a minor malocclusion (without the need for treatment), 20% a definitivemalocclusion (need for elective treatment), 30% a severe malocclusion (highly desirable treatment) and 12.86% a very severe malocclusion (mandatory treatment). No statistically significant differences were found by sex (p =0.53) or by age (p =0.05). Conclusion: There is a higher prevalence of adolescents who had a normal occlusion without the need of orthodontic treatment and the ones with the lowest prevalence were adolescents with very severe malocclusion that needed compulsory treatment, without differences by sex or age

Impact of dental self-perception on the quality of life of students at the Catholic University of Cuenca, Azogues in 2018

Dental aesthetics is an important factor since it represents a determinant and influential physical stereotype on the individual in different age groups. Young people are particularly vulnerable due to the influence of social media. Thus, there is a greater collective interest in improving the appearance of their smiles, allowing them to improve their interpersonal relationships. Currently, there are several indices to assess quality of life and dental aesthetics. The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of dental self-perception on the quality of life of students at the Catholic University of Cuenca, Azogues, in 2018. The study included a sample of 189 students; the Aesthetic Oral Health Impact Profile (A-OHIP14) questionnaire was applied. Inferential statistics used chi-squared tests (p<0.05). No statistical significance was found between quality of life according to sex (p=0.246) or age (p=0.132). Regarding the domains, it was reported that psychological discomfort and physical pain has the highest scores (3.15-2.92), while they feeling disadvantaged and social disability had lower scores (1.5-1.56). Male students aged 18 to 21 showed the greatest impact of dental self-perception on quality of life associated with oral health.