Orthodontic treatment and quality of life of adolescents and young adults – between aesthetics and psychosocial parameters

Oral health has an effect on various aspects: speech, smile, taste, chewing, swallowing and the communication of various emotions, through facial expressions. Aim. This study purposed to assess the influence of orthodontic treatment on patients' quality of life, by correlating the specific social and psychological areas. Material and method. The study group involved 100 people aged between 15 and 20 years (mean age 17.3), of both genders. The applied questionnaire comprised a number of 26 questions that evaluated several components: aesthetic (1-6), psychological (7-12), social (13-22) and self-esteem (23-26). The questions were formulated starting from the evaluation proposed by Klages et al. Results. The distribution according to gender revealed the predominance of the female gender in the studied group, and the environment of origin was predominantly urban. The association between the degree of acceptability, psychological comfort and self-confidence were not statistically significantly correlated with malocclusion for respondents. Orthodontic treatment caused statistically significant differences in increasing self-esteem and socialconfidence. Discussions. In addition to improving dental and facial aesthetics, orthodontic treatment has led to progress in social relationships, with increased confidence and self-esteem, social acceptability in the study group. Conclusions. Despite the limitations of this study, we observed that orthodontic treatment increases various aspects in oral health related quality of life. The results of orthodontic treatment must be appreciated in terms of psycho-social and emotional benefits, not only according to dental, skeletal and occlusal criteria.