Impact Of Malocclusion On Oral Health-Related Quality Of Life Of Early Adolescents in Erbil city

Background: Malocclusion is a frequent dental problem whose consequences are impact on functions such as speech and mastication, aesthetics of the face, and general health. The present study aimed to assess the effect of malocclusion on the oral health-related quality of life among early adolescents in Erbil City, Iraq. Methods: Cross-sectional survey in which included 800 students aged between 7 and 18 years, divided into primary, middle, and high school groups. Data were collected by use of a bilingual questionnaire (English and Kurdish), which included 15 questions with Likert type answers and addressed all sociodemographic factors and dental-related difficulties, such as problems in talking, problems eating, and embarrassment. The data will be sorted and analyzed with the SPSS program version 28, with a level of statistical significance of p≤0.05. Results: The females were 60.9%, and the male percentage was 39.1%, with a mean age of 14.33 years. By malocclusion pattern: Class I 55%, Class II 33%, Class III 12% were found. It was predictable that different malocclusion types were significantly related to some kinds of dental-related problems. For instance, 54.3% of the participants had an on-and-off worsening in the sense of taste, 39.8% of them had painful aching, and 36.1% of them had pronunciation problems very often. Interpretation: The study revealed that the malocclusion status significantly affects the OHRQoL related to functional and psychosocial well-being. Conclusion: A high prevalence of malocclusion among early adolescents in Erbil City significantly impairs OHRQoL. This has given impetus to advise early diagnosis and correction of malocclusion to alleviate the problems of adolescents in their day-to-day activities.