Parents’ and caregivers’ perceptions of the quality of life of adolescents in the first 4 months of orthodontic treatment with a fixed appliance

Abstract

Objectives: To evaluate adolescents oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL) in the first 4 months of fixed orthodontic appliance treatment using parents and caregivers as proxies. Design: Descriptive study. Setting: Department of Pediatric Dentistry and Orthodontics at Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Brazil. Participants: A sample of parents and caregivers of 95 adolescents undergoing orthodontic treatment with a fixed appliance. Methods: Participants were required to answer the Brazilian version of the Parental-Caregivers Perceptions Questionnaire (P-CPQ) before adolescent’s treatment (T1) and 4 months after bonding of the fixed appliance (T2). Statistical analysis was carried out using the Wilcoxon signed rank test and the Bonferroni correction for the domains of P-CPQ. Results: Among the 95 participants, there were 73 mothers, 18 fathers and 4 were other relations. There was a statistically significant improvement in the overall score as well as in both emotional and social wellbeing subscales (P<0·001). Conclusion: Parents and caregivers report an improvement on their adolescent’s OHRQoL in the first 4 months of orthodontic treatment with a fixed appliance.

Keywords:

• Adolescent
• orthodontic treatment
• parent report
• proxy
• quality of life

Acknowledgments

This study was supported by the National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq), the Coordination for the Improvement of Higher level Education Personnel (CAPES) and the State of Minas Gerais Research Foundation (FAPEMIG), Brazil.