ASSESSMENT OF DENTAL AESTHETICS AND PREVALENCE OF PSYCHOSOCIAL EFFECTS OF MALOCCLUSION AMONG ADOLESCENTS AND YOUNG ADULTS IN KANO METROPOLIS: A CROSS SECTIONAL STUDY

Psychosocial effects comprise bad feelings and fears, anxiety, depression, shyness, rejection from social circle, losing customers, failed romantic relationships. Malocclusion and its attendant effect on appearance has the propensity to affect negatively patients’ psychosocial well-being. A plethora of instruments have been utilized in documented literature to assess malocclusion, orthodontic treatment needs and their effects on an individual’s self-image3–6. An instrument used to assess malocclusion and orthodontic treatment needs is the Dental Aesthetic Index (DAI)7; but it does not give any information about the impact of malocclusion on patients’ self-image and quality of life especially in terms of subject’s well-being and daily function(8). These demerits with DAI engendered the introduction of more psychometric instruments that measure oral health outcomes during orthodontic treatment planning process such as the Oral Health Related Quality of Life (OHRQoL) tool8,9. The psychosocial impact of dental aesthetics questionnaire (PIDAQ) was developed as an OHRQoL psychometric tool to evaluate apparent effects of patients’ dental aesthetic concerns on their self-esteem. PIDAQ comprises subscales including Dental Self Confidence scale (DSC), Social impact (SI), (psychological Impact) and aesthetic concern (AC)3,10. Another popular tool that has been utilized in many orthodontic studies to assess OHRQOL and psychosocial status of individuals is the Oral Health Impact Profile (OHIP-14) which has 7 domains; Functional discomfort, physical pain, psychological discomfort, physical disability, psychological disability, social disability and handicap.