Dentofacial Deformities and Implications on Quality of Life: A Presurgical Multifactorial Analysis in Patients Seeking Orthognathic Surgical Treatment.

PURPOSE

The purpose was to perform a quality-of-life survey in patients with skeletal malocclusion before undergoing orthognathic surgery, as well as delineate the sociodemographic profile and detect factors that may alter the quality of life.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

This cross-sectional study was carried out in patients who sought care at the Hospital das Clínicas of the University of São Paulo Medical School (N = 106; average age, 27.2 years). Participants answered the Oral Health Impact Profile 14 (OHIP-14) questionnaire and Orthognathic Quality of Life Questionnaire (OQLQ). The χ or Fisher test was used to verify the association between impact and sociodemographic variables.

RESULTS

On the Oral Health Impact Profile 14 (OHIP-14) questionnaire, the "psychological incapacity" dimension (64.15%) presented a higher prevalence of impact. The marital status of the interviewees had a statistically significant effect on the impact of quality of life (P = .0119). On the Orthognathic Quality of Life Questionnaire (OQLQ), the "facial esthetics" dimension represented 81.13% in the prevalence of impact on quality of life. The "gender" variable had a statistically significant effect on the quality of life of the respondents (P = .0005), with women having an 11.78 times greater chance of having this impact.

CONCLUSIONS

In this study, psychological factors and esthetics exerted a strong influence on the quality of life of patients with dentofacial deformities, overlapping with functional aspects.