Difference and relation between adolescents' and their parents or caregivers' reported oral health-related quality of life related to orthodontic treatment: a prospective cohort study.

BACKGROUND: Parents/caregivers play an important role in deciding whether their children will undergo orthodontic treatment or not. Their perceptions also have an influence on other choices involving orthodontic treatment. The purpose of this study was to investigate the difference and correlation between the ratings given by children and their parents or caregivers on their oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL) before, during and after orthodontic treatment. METHODS: In this ongoing observational prospective cohort study, 498 children aged 11 to 16 years-old and one of their parents/caregivers completed questionnaires before (T0), 1 year after start (T1) and 1 month after the end of orthodontic treatment (T2). OHRQoL was scored by using the Child Perception Questionnaire (CPQ11-14) and the Parental-Caregiver Perception questionnaire (P-CPQ). The self-perception of oral aesthetics was evaluated with the Oral Aesthetic Subjective Impact Scale (OASIS) in addition to the aesthetic component (AC) of the Index of Orthodontic Treatment Need (IOTN). Spearman correlations, Mann-Whitney U-tests and linear models were used to analyze the longitudinal data. RESULTS: At T0, the ratings of parents/caregivers were significantly lower for the total CPQ as well as for the subdomains of oral symptoms, functional limitations and emotional well-being. Parents/caregivers also scored significantly lower at T2 for the total CPQ and the subdomain of oral symptoms. The relations between the scores of children and their parents/caregivers were significant at all three time points, as were the changes in scores, but all of them were at most moderate in size. Parents/caregivers scored significantly lower for OASIS than their children at all time points and only at baseline a significant, weak correlation was found. CONCLUSION: The reports of parents/caregivers should be seen as important complementary information in OHRQoL research. TRIAL REGISTRATION: This study was approved by the Medical Ethical Commitee of the University Hospitals Leuven and the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven (ML5739), Leuven, Belgium, on the 12th of May of 2009, with the registration number S51642. All procedures performed are in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committees and with the 1964 Declaration of Helsinki and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

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.