Evaluation of a Quality of Life Measure for Children with Malocclusion

Objective: To explore the validity and reliability of the child perception questionnaire as an oral-health-related quality of life (OHRQoL) measure in adolescents with malocclusion.

Design: A cross-sectional study comparing two groups of individuals.

Setting: One group of children with malocclusion was recruited from the orthodontic departments at the Charles Clifford Dental Hospital (CCDH), Sheffield and Chesterfield Royal Hospital (CRH), Chesterfield. A second group with no malocclusion was recruited from the Paediatric Department at CCDH and one General Dental Practice in Sheffield.

Subjects And Methods: The malocclusion group consisted of 116 patients aged 11-14 years about to commence orthodontic treatment. The non-malocclusion group consisted of 31 11-14-year-old patients with index of orthodontic treatment need (IOTN) 1 and 2, and DMFT <or=2, with no history of orthodontic treatment. The children completed the child perception questionnaire (CPQ), including global ratings of oral health and satisfaction. Each child rated their own IOTN aesthetic component (AC) score.

Outcome Measures: Total CPQ scores and responses in the four domains. Self-perceived AC scores and responses to global rating of oral health, life overall and satisfaction rating were recorded.

Results: There was a statistically significant difference between the malocclusion and non-malocclusion total CPQ scores (P = 0.012). These differences were significant for the emotional (P = 0.006) and social well-being (P = 0.001) health domains, and not significant for the oral symptoms and functional limitations health domains. There were significant correlations between the total CPQ score and overall well-being (R(s) = 0.397) and patient satisfaction (Rs = 0.362).

Conclusions: Malocclusion has a negative impact on the OHRQoL of an adolescent. A shortened version of this form, specifically for prospective orthodontic patients, may be beneficial as an additional measure to assess need for treatment especially as some of the questions in the oral symptoms and functional limitations subscales of the current questionnaire are not relevant to orthodontic patients.