Närhi L, Tolvanen M, Pirttiniemi P, Silvola A-S. Malocclusion severity and its associations with oral health-related quality of life in an adult population. Eur J Orthod 2021; doi: 10.1093/ejo/cjab070. Online ahead of print.

There is an association between malocclusion severity and OHRQoL in adult population, particularly in women.

This study investigated malocclusion severity and its associations with oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL) among middle-aged adults. The study included 1,786 subjects from the Northern Finland Birth Cohort 1966 who attended dental and oral examination as part of the 46-year-old follow-up study. Malocclusion severity was assessed using the Dental Health Component (DHC) of the Index of Orthodontic Treatment Need (IOTN) and the Peer Assessment Rating index (PAR) from digital 3D dental models. Participants also answered a questionnaire including the Oral Health Impact Profile (OHIP-14) and a question on their satisfaction with occlusal function. In the study, 31.3% had great or very great orthodontic treatment need according to the DHC and the mean PAR total score was 22.05. The most severe malocclusions were associated with OHRQoL, especially the psychosocial and handicap dimensions, and satisfaction with occlusal function. Women reported significantly more OHRQoL impacts then men.