Untreated Gross Dental Malocclusion in Adolescents: Psychological Impact and Effect on Academic Performance in School

Purpose: To evaluate the psychological impact and effect on academic performance of untreated gross dental malocclusion in adolescents. Materials and Methods: A total of 366 (181 girls and 185 boys) adolescents with gross dental malocclusion were selected for the study group. A modified oral aesthetic subjective impact scale questionnaire was applied in face-to-face interviews. Similar data were collected from parents, schoolteachers and one friend of each adolescent selected for the study. Academic performance was evaluated from school records and compared with a control group of 400 adolescents (200 girls and 200 boys) having normal occlusion and an aesthetically pleasing facial appearance. The Kruskal-Wallis H and chi-square tests were used to analyse the data. The correlation between the academic performance of adolescents and the psychological impact of malocclusion was assessed using the Spearman rank correlation. Results: Significant numbers of adolescents (81.1%) were concerned about the appearance of their teeth, with significant gender variation (0.02). 88.5% of the adolescents received comments from others about their appearance. The results differed significantly by gender for 'avoiding smiling' (p = 0.02) and 'participation in social activities' (p = 0.02). The evaluation of academic performance showed that 42.1% of the adolescents with gross dental malocclusion performed below average; this also differed statistically significantly by gender (p = 0.04). Conclusion: Untreated gross dental malocclusion significantly affects the psychosocial well-being of adolescents, who may avoid participating in social activities and tend to underperform in school.

Object Details

• Location: Deutsche Nationalbibliothek Frankfurt am Main
• Extent: Online-Ressource
• Language: Englisch

References and Relationships

• Bibliographic citation: Untreated Gross Dental Malocclusion in Adolescents: Psychological Impact and Effect on Academic Performance in School ; volume:14 ; number:1 ; year:2016 ; pages:63-69 ; Oral health & preventive dentistry ; 14, Heft 1 (2016), 63-69

Contributors, Places and Time

• Creator: Basha, Sakeenabi ; Mohamed, Roshan Noor ; Swamy, Hiremath Shivalinga ; Parameshwarappa, Poornima

Further information

• DOI: 10.3290/j.ohpd.a35003
• URN: urn:nbn:de:101:1-2023052113044528454078
• Rights: Open Access; Der Zugriff auf das Objekt ist unbeschränkt möglich.
• Last update: 14.08.2025, 11:04 AM CEST