title: Impact of wearing fixed orthodontic appliances on oral health-related quality of life among Brazilian children.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To assess the impact of wearing a fixed orthodontic appliance on oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL) among Brazilian children.
  
  
  METHODS
  Cross-sectional study.
  
  
  METHODS
  The Department of Paediatric Dentistry and Orthodontics at Federal University of Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Brazil.
  
  
  METHODS
  Sample of 579 children aged 11-14 years. The children were divided into two groups: wearing (n = 160)and not wearing (n = 419)a fixed orthodontic appliance.
  
  
  METHODS
  A clinical examination was performed by a single examiner to determine whether or not a fixed orthodontic appliance was worn,the presence of a malocclusion using the Dental Aesthetic Index (DAI)and cavitated carious lesions. The impact of wearing a fixed orthodontic appliance on OHRQoL was measured using the short form of the Brazilian version of the Child Perceptions Questionnaire (CPQ(11-14)). Data analysis involved descriptive statistics, Mann-Whitney test and univariate/multiple logistic regression.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The total CPQ(11-14) score revealed a more frequent impact among children who wore a fixed orthodontic appliance than those who did not (P = 0·002).Similar findings were observed for the FL (P = 0·005),EWB (P = 0·006) and SWB (P = 0·003) subscales.There was no statistically significant difference between the two groups regarding the score on the OS subscale (P = 0·124).While females were 1·76 times more likely to have a worse OHRQoL than males, the use of a fixed orthodontic appliance was also significantly associated with a greater chance (OR = 1·60; CI = 1·11-2·33)of impacting OHRQoL when both variables were inserted together in the regression model.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Children wearing a fixed orthodontic appliance had significantly worse OHRQoL compared with a control group with no malocclusion and not wearing a fixed appliance.
authors.affiliation: Federal University of Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte,Minas Gerais, Brazil. meirecofe@ig.com.br.
authors.forename: Andréa antônia
authors.initials: Aa
authors.lastname: Costa
authors.forename: Meire Coelho
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Ferreira
authors.forename: Júnia Maria
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Serra-Negra
authors.forename: Isabela Almeida
authors.initials: IA
authors.lastname: Pordeus
authors.forename: Saul Martins
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Paiva
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D001938:Brazil; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002648:Child; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D009967:Orthodontic Appliances; D009971:Orthodontics, Corrective / Q000523:psychology*; D011788:Quality of Life; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires