title: The psycho-social impact of malocclusions and treatment expectations of adolescent orthodontic patients.
abstract: To evaluate the short- and long-term orthodontic treatment (OT) expectations, malocclusion severity, and oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL) status of adolescent patients using qualitative and quantitative methodology.
  
  
  
  Adolescents (n = 105; 42 males and 63 females) aged between 12 and 17 years participated in this interview and questionnaire-based study. The Psychosocial Impact of Dental Aesthetics Questionnaire (PIDAQ) and the Oral Impacts on Daily Performances (OIDP) scale evaluated OHRQoL status. Study casts were analysed using the Dental Aesthetics Index (DAI) and the Index of Complexity, Outcome and Need (ICON). Mann-Whitney test and Spearman's correlations tested various univariate variables.
  
  
  
  With similar index-determined OT need (DAI, P = 0.371 and ICON, P = 0.932) females tended to have worse OHRQoL status (PIDAQ scores, P-values ranged from 0.006 to 0.0001 and scores for the OIDP question related to smiling, laughing, and showing teeth without embarrassment, P-value = 0.015). Occlusal index scores did not have statistically significant associations with the OHRQoL scales. Better dental appearance was expected by 85 per cent of the adolescents in the short-term and by 51 per cent in the long-term after OT. The associated psycho-social expectations were: 1. improved dental self-confidence, 2. positive psychological impact/improved self-worth, and 3. positive social impact.
  
  
  
  Female adolescent patients tended to experience worse psycho-social impacts related to their malocclusions compared with males with similar index-determined OT need. Index-determined OT need scores did not correlate with the OHRQoL scales. Adolescent patients expected OT to improve their dental appearance and QoL aspects.
authors.affiliation: *Department of Orthodontics.
authors.forename: Eugene
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Twigge
authors.affiliation: **School of Psychology.
authors.forename: Rachel M
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: Roberts
authors.affiliation: ***Australian Research Centre for Population Oral Health.
authors.forename: Lisa
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Jamieson
authors.affiliation: ****Department of Orthodontics and craig.dreyer@adelaide.edu.au.
authors.forename: Craig W
authors.initials: CW
authors.lastname: Dreyer
authors.affiliation: *****Department of Orthodontics, The University of Adelaide, Australia.
authors.forename: Wayne J
authors.initials: WJ
authors.lastname: Sampson
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D001294:Attitude to Health; D002648:Child; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004644:Emotions; D004955:Esthetics, Dental / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008310:Malocclusion / Q000523:psychology*; D009909:Oral Health; D011594:Psychometrics; D011788:Quality of Life; D012649:Self Concept; D012904:Smiling / Q000523:psychology; D012922:Social Change; D013021:South Australia; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires