title: Does orthodontic treatment harm children's diets?
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Despite the many courses of fixed orthodontic treatment being undertaken worldwide, the question of this treatment harming children's diets remains unanswered.
  
  
  METHODS
  A hospital-based prospective cohort design was adopted to investigate the effects of treatment on dietary intake and behaviour, body fat (BMI) and fat percentage in 124 patients (41.9% male) aged 11-14 (mean 13.1, SD 0.91) years, consecutively recruited to test and control groups. Both groups completed socio-demographic and food frequency questionnaires, body mass index (BMI) and body fat percentage measures at baseline and follow-up. Test patients completed follow-up pain diaries and dietary questionnaires.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Both groups were comparable at baseline, with a dropout rate of 12.1%. The impact on dietary behaviour was significantly higher at 6 weeks compared to 3 months (P<0.002). Pain (biological factor), analgesic consumption or professional dietary advice (behaviour modification) had no influence whilst, a high BMI status at baseline appeared to be the only significant moderator of change in fat percentage (P<0.05) and impacts on dietary behaviour (P<0.049) at follow-up.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The findings show no significant detrimental effect on dietary intake or behaviour, BMI and fat percentage, during the first 3 months, of orthodontic treatment and may impart a beneficial/protective effect.
authors.affiliation: Oral Growth & Development, Institute of Dentistry, UK. Electronic address: a.s.johal@qmul.ac.uk.
authors.forename: Ama
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Johal
authors.forename: Feras
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Abed Al Jawad
authors.forename: Wagner
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Marcenes
authors.forename: Nick
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Croft
mesh_terms: D000273:Adipose Tissue / Q000033:anatomy & histology; D000293:Adolescent; D000700:Analgesics / Q000627:therapeutic use; D001823:Body Composition / Q000502:physiology; D015992:Body Mass Index; D001835:Body Weight / Q000502:physiology; D002648:Child; D015331:Cohort Studies; D003376:Counseling; D004032:Diet; D005247:Feeding Behavior / Q000502:physiology; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008409:Mastication / Q000502:physiology; D008499:Medical Records; D009967:Orthodontic Appliances; D010147:Pain Measurement / Q000379:methods; D011446:Prospective Studies; D062410:Snacks; D012923:Social Class; D014087:Tooth Movement Techniques / Q000295:instrumentation*
chemical_list: D000700:Analgesics
keywords: Body weight; Diet; Fat percentage change; Orthodontics