Does Orthodontics affect the quality of life?
Quality of life could be explained as ‘a person’s sense of well-being that stems from satisfaction and dissatisfaction with the areas of life that are important to him/her’1. As we all know, good oral health has a great impact in a person’s quality of life. ‘Oral health is a standard of health of the oral and related tissues which enables an individual to eat, speak and socialize without active disease, discomfort or embarrassment and which contributes to general well-being’3 .Orthodontic treatment is different compared to most of the other medical interventions, as its goal is to correct variation from an arbitrary norm 4. It is proven that one of the main reason for undertaking orthodontic treatment is to improve in aesthetics and for the subsequent enhancement of psycho-social well being 2. In addition, it improves a person’s self esteem and enhances their confidence in SMILE.
References:
- Becker, M., Diamond, R. & Sainfort. E. (1993). A new patient focused index for measuring quality of life in persons with sever and persistent mental illness. Quality of Life Research, 2, 239-251.
- Cunningham, S. & Hunt, N. (2001). Quality of Life and Its Importance in Orthodontics. JO, 28 (2), 152-157.
- Department of Health (1994). An Oral Health Strategy for England, London: HMSQ.
- O’Brien, L., Fox, D. & Mandall, N. (1998). Assessing oral health outcomes for orthodontics-measuring health status and quality of life. Community Dentistry and Oral Epidemiology, 17, 7-10.
