Orthodontic treatment need and oral health-related quality among children

Objectives: To determine the association between the impact of oral health on quality of life (OHQoL) among children and their need for orthodontic treatment. Methods: Children (217) were screened for orthodontic treatment need using a number of professionally derived indices: Index of Orthodontic Treatment Need (IOTN) - Aesthetic Component (AC) and Dental Health Component (DHC); Index of Complexity, Outcome and Need (ICON) and the Dental Aesthetic Index (DAI). In addition, all children self-completed the 37-item Child Perception Questionnaire (CPQ), a measure of OHQoL, to assess Oral Symptoms (OS) experienced, Functional Limitation (FL), Emotional Well Being (EWB) and Social Well Being (SWB). Results: Different prevalence of orthodontic treatment need was observed depending on occlusal indices used (ranged from 31.6% to 85.9%). However, there were significant correlations between the different occlusal indices (p<0.01). Significant differences in overall CPQ scores existed between those with and without an orthodontic treatment need irrespective of occlusal indices used to categorize treatment need (p