Correlation Between Malocclusion Severity and Oral Health-related Quality of Life Using OHIP-14 and IOTN Among Patients Seeking Orthodontic Treatment: A Cross-sectional Observational Study
Alka Dubey, Ram K. Ratre, Gauravardhan Kulkarni, Virag Bhatia, Varsha Dogra, Shafna V, Bhumika DaheriyaAim
This research focuses on assessing oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL) through the application of the Oral Health Impact Profile (OHIP)-14 and the Index of Orthodontic Treatment Need (IOTN). It specifically explored the link between clinician-assessed malocclusion severity and how adolescents and young adults seeking orthodontic treatment perceive their own dental health.
Methods
A cohort of 120 orthodontic outpatients (77 females and 43 males; age range: 15-30 years; mean age: 22.07 ± 4.71 years) was selected via consecutive convenience sampling. To capture both clinical and patient-centered perspectives, OHRQoL was assessed using the self-reported OHIP-14 and the AC-IOTN indices, whereas a single operator evaluated normative treatment needs using the Dental Health Component (DHC)-IOTN. Statistical distribution analysis with the Shapiro–Wilk test confirmed that the data were non-normally distributed (
Results
A majority of participants (74.16%) of the sample were clinically categorized as having a “Great Need” for treatment (DHC); clinical severity did not significantly correlate with quality of life (QoL) (
Conclusion
This study identifies a significant “clinical-perceptual gap,” demonstrating that patient-centered AC is a more reliable predictor of OHRQoL impact than objective clinical indices (DHC). Females in this demographic exhibit a heightened subjective awareness of malocclusion, experiencing a greater negative impact on their QoL than males for the same degree of clinical severity. These findings underscore the need to prioritize patient-reported outcomes when planning orthodontic services in public health settings.