Impacts of childhood malocclusion on the family

PURPOSE

To analyze the effects of children's malocclusions and associated quality of life on family relationships by evaluating psychometric characteristics of the Family Impact Scale (FIS) in adolescents seeking orthodontic treatment.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Included were 334 participants (children aged 11-14 years; 53% female and 47% male) and their parents (84% mothers, 16% fathers) who were recruited at two dental clinics in Croatia. The Child Perception Questionnaire, Parental-Caregiver Perception Questionnaire, and FIS were administered. Malocclusion severity was estimated using the Index of Orthodontic Treatment Need Dental Health Component. The presence of caries was also recorded. Factor analysis, t‑test, Pearson correlation, and multiple linear regression analysis were used for statistical analysis.

RESULTS

Unidimensional FIS measuring global family impacts had higher internal consistency (α = 0.73-0.81) compared to the specific dimensions of family impacts (α = 0.60-0.69). Global family impacts were higher in children with more severe malocclusions and existing dental caries, primarily influencing parental activity, and parental emotions dimensions (p < 0.05). In multiple regression, parental perception of child's emotional well-being, oral symptoms, and social well-being (p < 0.001) were significant predictors of global family impacts, whereas child's quality of life perception, malocclusion severity, or child sex were not. Reduction of an increased overjet by orthodontic treatment affected changes in the global family impacts, mainly by reducing the emotional issues of parents (p < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONS

The child's malocclusion influenced the family, primarily parental emotions. Family influences were mostly determined by parental perception of the child's altered psychosocial well-being. The FIS had adequate psychometric properties.

Evidence of Effectiveness of Lingual Orthodontics as an Alternative to Conventional Labial Orthodontics. A Systematic Review

In orthodontics, both the treatment goals and the impact of orthodontic equipment on patients' aesthetic appearance have contributed to a rise in patients' aesthetic demands over the years. Patients considering orthodontic treatment are significantly concerned about the potential compromise in facial appearance that conventional orthodontic therapy might cause. Clinical practice has integrated aesthetic materials and procedures to address these restrictions. This review will examine the present data and outcomes linked to lingual orthodontics. PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, Cochrane Library, and Embase were the electronic databases searched. Research interests mainly included biomechanics, appliance design, bonding, laboratory settings, case reports, survey research, and treatment outcomes. The goal was to locate the most recent data regarding lingual orthodontics. A consistent and predictable pattern emerges from the available evidence on lingual orthodontics. Several areas have received a lot of attention over the past decade, including the ability to forecast outcomes and patients' preparedness to embrace these changes. The current state of knowledge on the biomechanical principles of lingual orthodontics is solid, as this review shows. Lingual orthodontic appliances can efficiently handle any orthodontic scenario that a labial appliance can handle. The reason is that the completely customized lingual appliance might bring about the desired result in terms of treatment.

Quality of life of families of adolescents undergoing fixed orthodontic appliance therapy: Evaluation of a cohort of parents/guardians of treated and untreated individuals

BACKGROUND

Quality of life (QoL) measurements have been employed in medicine and dentistry to assess the effect of diseases and treatment on individuals' lives.

AIM

To assess the effect of the initial 12 months of fixed orthodontic appliance therapy on the families of Brazilian adolescents.

DESIGN

A cohort of 11- to 12-year-old adolescents and their parents/guardians participated. Treatment group (TG) consisted of 101 parents/guardians of adolescents who began fixed orthodontic appliance therapy. They completed four sets of the Family Impact Scale (FIS) at baseline, 1 month, 6 months and 12 months after the bonding of fixed appliances. Control group (CG) was composed of 175 parents/guardians of adolescents, who did not begin treatment, answering four sets of the FIS at the same intervals. The subscales of FIS were parental/family activity (PA), parental emotions (PE), family conflict (FC) and financial burden (FB). Statistical analysis was performed.

RESULTS

The interaction of group (treatment) with time allowed one to observe significant changes in the PA (P < .001), PE (P < .001), FC (P < .001) and overall FIS score (P < .001), demonstrating an improvement in the subscale and overall QoL of families of adolescents.

CONCLUSIONS

The effect of fixed orthodontic appliance therapy on the families of adolescents was highly beneficial.

Validation of an Indian (Kannada) translation of the Family Impact Scale questionnaire and the impact of malocclusion on the families of adolescent school children

OBJECTIVES

The objectives of this study were to validate an Indian translation of the Family Impact Scale (FIS) questionnaire and assess the impact of malocclusion on the families of adolescent school children between 12 and 15 years old across socio-economic strata (SES).

MATERIALS AND METHODS

The sample consisted of 768 school children aged between 12 and 15 years from randomly selected schools in Udupi district. The FIS and informed consent forms were sent through the children to be completed by their parents. Information was collected on socio-demographic details, past dental visit in the last year, type of school and SES. Clinical examination for malocclusion using the Dental Aesthetic Index was conducted by a single trained and calibrated examiner.

RESULTS

The prevalence of malocclusion was 59.9%. The intra-class correlation for the total FIS score of 0.95 and Cronbach's alpha value of 0.88 demonstrated internal consistency. There was a significant difference in the overall and subscale scores of FIS between parents of children with and without malocclusion (P < 0.001). Parents of children who had malocclusion had significantly higher FIS scores across all SES (P < 0.001). Parents of children with malocclusion had 1.86 (P < 0.001, 95% CI = 1.60-2.17) times higher FIS scores than parents of children without malocclusion after adjusting for age, gender, SES, and past dental visits in the last year.

CONCLUSION

The psychometric properties of the FIS were found satisfactory for assessing the effect of a child's oral condition on his/her family. Malocclusion in children had a significant negative influence on the family impact scores.

Impact of malocclusion on oral health-related quality of life among schoolchildren

The aim of the present study was to evaluate the prevalence and impact of malocclusion on oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL) among schoolchildren aged 8 to 10 years and their parents in Diamantina, a town in the southeast of Brazil. A cross-sectional study was conducted with a sample of 390 randomly selected children who were subjected to a clinical oral examination. The Dental Aesthetic Index was used to diagnose malocclusion and the need for orthodontic treatment. The Child Perceptions Questionnaire (CPQ (8-10)) was used to evaluate the impact of malocclusion on OHRQoL. The children's parents answered the Brazilian Economic Criterion Questionnaire for the socioeconomic classification. Data analysis involved the nonparametric Kruskal-Wallis test and Spearman's correlation coefficients. The variables were grouped into a hierarchy of categories ranging from distal to proximal determinants. Poisson regression analysis with robust variance was performed at each level to correlate the total CPQ (8-10) score with the independent variables. The prevalence of malocclusion was 78.7%. Crossbite remained significantly associated with a negative impact on OHRQoL (PR = 1.28; 95%CI:1.17-1.39; p < 0.001). The prevalence of malocclusion was high in the sample investigated and exerted a negative impact on OHRQoL.