[Oral health-related quality of life in patients with fixed appliances].

OBJECTIVE

To assess oral health-related quality of life in patients with fixed appliances.

METHODS

Orthodontic patients were asked to complete the scale of general conditions (Chinese version, questionnaire 1) and oral health impact profile (OHIP) -14 (Chinese version, questionnaire 2). Baseline data were collected at first visit and thereafter. The subjects finished questionnaire 2 at the 1st week, 4th week, 12th week and 24th week, respectively, after the fixed appliance was bonded. Data were analyzed to evaluate the various sample groups with different personal information and clinical parameters. Results were collated and analyzed using software package SPSS version 15.0.

RESULTS

The most common negative effect was physical pain [55/222 (27.8%)] and psychological discomfort [40/222 (18.0%)], mainly in the first month. The total scores at five time points were 3, 10, 7, 5 and 4, respectively. No difference was found in quality of life in patients between sixth month with fixed appliance and without appliance (P > 0.05). Age and education status affected the quality of life (P < 0.001).

CONCLUSIONS

Fixed orthodontic appliance therapy affected patients' oral health-related quality of life during treatment. The quality of life in the first month of treatment was mostly compromised and was improved later.