Comparison of oral health-related quality of life of patients treated by palatal expanders with patients treated by fixed orthodontic appliances

Figures & data

Table 1 Sociodemographic characteristics of the participants

Variable	All patients n (%)	Fixed appliance	Palatal expander	P-value
		n (%) n=220	n (%) n=179
Age, mean (SD), years	18.8 (5.1)	19.38 (4.95)	18 (0.39)	0.007
Sex				0.018
Male	155 (38.85)	74 (47.74)	81 (52.26)
Female	244 (61.15)	146 (59.84)	98 (40.16)
Nationality				0.022
Saudi	188 (47.12)	115 (61.17)	73 (38.83)
Non-Saudi	211 (52.88)	105 (49.76)	106 (50.24)
Education level				0.075
High school and below	276 (69.17)	144 (52.17)	132 (47.83)
Higher than high school	123 (30.83)	76 (61.79)	47 (38.21)

Abbreviation: SD, standard deviation.

Table 2 OHIP-14 scores in relation to orthodontic treatment type

OHIP-14 daily activity	Fixed	Expander	P-value
	n (%) n=220	n (%) n=179
Functional limitation
Had problems pronouncing word			0.048**
Impact	90 (49.72)	91 (50.20)
No impact	130 (59.63)	88 (40.37)
Felt that the sense of taste worsened			0.271**
Impact	96 (52.17)	88 (47.83)
No impact	124 (57.67)	91 (42.33)
Physical pain
Had painful aching in the mouth			0.003**
Impact	125 (62.50)	75 (37.50)
No impact	95 (47.74)	104 (52.26)
Found it uncomfortable to eat any food
Impact	60 (38.71)	95 (61.29)	<0.01**
No impact	160 (65.57)	84 (34.43)
Psychological discomfort
Had been self-conscious			0.514**
Impact	4 (44.44)	5 (55.56)
No impact	216 (55.38)	174 (44.62)
Felt tense
Impact	–	–	–
No impact	220 (55.14)	179 (44.86)
Physical disability
Had an unsatisfactory diet			0.661*
Impact	2 (40.00)	3 (60.00)
No impact	218 (55.33)	176 (44.67)
Had to interrupt meals			1.000*
Impact	4 (50.00)	4 (50.00)
No impact	216 (55.24)	175 (44.76)
Psychological disability
Found it difficult to relax			0.010*
Impact	8 (100.00)	0 (0)
No impact	212 (54.36)	178 (45.64)
Had been a bit embarrassed			<0.01**
Impact	40 (80.00)	10 (20.00)
No impact	180 (51.58)	169 (48.42)
Social disability
Had been irritable with other people			<0.01**
Impact	80 (67.80)	38 (32.20)
No impact	140 (49.82)	141 (50.18)
Had difficulty doing useful jobs
Impact	–	–	–
No impact	220 (55.14)	179 (44.86)
Handicap
Felt that life in general was less satisfactory			0.230*
Impact	5 (83.33)	1 (16.67)
No impact	215 (54.71)	178 (45.29)
Had been totally unable to function			0.225**
Impact	96 (51.89)	89 (48.11)
No impact	124 (57.94)	90 (42.06)

Notes:

* Fisher’s exact test was used.

** Chi-squared test was used.

Abbreviation: OHIP, Oral Health Impact Profile.

Table 3 Baseline characteristics of study participants stratified by sex

Variable	Males			Females
	Fixed appliance n=74 n (%)	Palatal expander n=81 n (%)	P-value	Fixed appliance n=146 n (%)	Palatal expander n=98 n (%)	P-value
Age, mean (SD), years	19.78 (5.03)	17.72 (4.94)	0.011	19.18 (4.92)	18.23 (5.44)	0.161
Nationality						0.021
Saudi	44 (52.38)	40 (47.62)	0.209	71 (68.27)	33 (31.73)
Non-Saudi	30 (42.25)	41 (57.75)		75 (53.57)	65 (46.43)
Education level						0.384
High school and below	49 (43.75)	63 (56.25)	0.108	95 (57.93)	69 (42.07)
Higher than high school	25 (58.14)	18 (41.86)		51 (63.75)	29 (36.25)

Abbreviation: SD, standard deviation.

Table 4 Impact on daily activities in relation to sex and orthodontic treatment needs

OHIP-14 item	Males			Females
	Fixed appliance n (%), n=74	Palatal expander n (%), n=81	P-value	Fixed appliance n (%), n=146	Palatal expander n (%), n=98	P-value
Had problems pronouncing words			0.513			<0.01**
Impact	34 (50.75)	33 (49.25)		56 (49.12)	58 (50.88)
No impact	40 (45.45)	48 (54.55)		90 (69.23)	40 (30.77)
Felt that the sense of taste worsened			0.60			0.066**
Impact	36 (50.00)	36 (50.00)		60 (53.57)	52 (46.43)
No impact	38 (45.78)	45 (54.22)		86 (65.15)	46 (34.85)
Had painful aching in the mouth			0.003			0.158**
Impact	46 (59.74)	31 (40.26)		79 (64.23)	44 (35.77)
No impact	28 (35.90)	50 (64.10)		67 (55.37)	54 (44.63)
Found it uncomfortable to eat any food			0.001			<0.01**
Impact	22 (32.84)	45 (67.16)		38 (43.18)	50 (56.82)
No impact	52 (59.09)	36 (40.91)		108 (69.23)	48 (30.77)
Had been self-conscious			1.000*			0.687*
Impact	1 (33.33)	2 (66.67)		3 (50.00)	3 (50.00)
No impact	73 (48.03)	79 (51.97)		143 (60.08)	95 (39.92)
Felt tense
Impact	–	–	–	–	–	–
No impact	74 (47.74)	81 (52.26)		146 (59.84)	98 (40.16)
Had an unsatisfactory diet			0.498*			1.000*
Impact	–	2 (100.00)		2 (66.67)	1 (33.33)
No impact	74 (48.37)	79 (51.63)		144 (59.75)	97 (40.25)
Had to interrupt meals			1.00*			0.687*
Impact	1 (50.00)	1 (50.00)		3 (50.00)	3 (50.00)
No impact	73 (47.71)	80 (52.29)		143 (60.08)	95 (39.92)
Found it difficult to relax			0.106*			0.160*
Impact	3 (100.00)	0 (0)		5 (100.00)	0
No impact	71 (46.71)	81 (53.29)		141 (59.24)	97 (40.76)
Had been a bit embarrassed			0.003*			0.016**
Impact	16 (80.00)	4 (20.00)		24 (80.00)	6 (20.00)
No impact	58 (42.96)	77 (57.04)		122 (57.01)	92 (42.99)
Had been irritable with other people			0.029			0.024**
Impact	24 (63.16)	14 (36.84)		56 (70.00)	24 (30.00)
No impact	50 (42.74)	67 (57.26)		90 (54.88)	74 (45.12)
Had difficulty doing useful jobs
Impact	–	–	–	–	–	–
No impact	74 (47.74)	81 (52.26)		146 (59.84)	98 (40.16)
Felt that life in general was less satisfactory			0.193*			1.000*
Impact	4 (80.00)	1 (20.00)		1 (100.00)	0
No impact	70 (46.67)	80 (53.33)		145 (59.67)	98 (40.33)
Had been totally unable to function			0.153			0.636**
Impact	29 (41.43)	41 (58.57)		67 (58.26)	48 (41.74)
No impact	45 (52.94)	40 (47.06)		79 (61.24)	50 (38.76)

Notes:

* Fisher’s exact test was used.

** Chi-squared test was used.

Abbreviation: OHIP, Oral Health Impact Profile.