ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to investigate the perception of facial and dental asymmetries in children and adolescents and how these asymmetries affect their psychosocial and emotional well-being. METHODS: The study included 66 children and adolescents (7-15 years) with a deviation between the maxillary and mandibular dental midlines of >â¯0.5â¯mm. The soft tissues of the face were scanned using stereophotogrammetry. Psychosocial and emotional impairments were assessed using the German version of the Child Perceptions Questionnaire (CPQ-G8-10 and 11-14). RESULTS: The mean midline deviation of the study group was 2.3â¯mm with no significant gender differences. Girls perceived facial asymmetry significantly more often than boys (pâ¯< 0.01). However, stereophotogrammetry showed no significant differences in facial morphology between subjects who perceived their face as asymmetrical and those who perceived it as symmetrical. Interestingly, we observed a significant correlation between the deviation of the dental midline and the lateral displacement of gonion (pâ¯< 0.05) and cheilion (pâ¯< 0.01). Psychosocial and emotional impairment was significantly higher in girls than in boys (pâ¯< 0.05). However, there was no significant correlation with the measured facial asymmetries. In contrast, the CPQ subscale score was 2.68 points higher in individuals with a dental midline shift ≥â¯3â¯mm (pâ¯< 0.01), independent of age and gender. CONCLUSION: Although girls perceived facial asymmetries more strongly than boys do, this perception could not be objectified by extraoral measurements. A midline shift of 3â¯mm or more had a negative impact on the oral health-related quality of life of affected children and adolescents.
