Self-Perception of Brazilian Adolescents who need Orthodontic Treatment

ABSTRACT

Objective: To evaluate the self-perception of adolescents regarding the need to undergo orthodontic treatment. Material and Methods: It was performed a cross-sectional study. The sample (n = 200) was composed of adolescents aged 11 to 18 years, of both sexes, divided into 2 groups (G1 ­ in treatment group, G2 - beginner group). A structured questionnaire was divided into three categories for data collection: teeth, face, and symptomatology. Considering the age group, data were tabulated and the first measures of central tendency and dispersion (mean, median, standard deviation, minimum value and maximum value), frequencies, and percentages for other variables were calculated. Student's t-test, Chi-square test, Fisher's exact were used to compare the groups for the age group and other variables at a 5% significance level. Results: The mean age was 15.47 (SD = 1.56) years, 59% of the individuals were women. The main reason for deciding to wear orthodontic appliances was due to necessity and malpositioned teeth (94.5%) and for other reasons (5.5%), with no significant difference between G1 and G2 groups (p>0.05); 20.5% wanted their front teeth to be longer/shorter, and 18.5% wanted their upper teeth to be moved forward/backward. There was no significant difference between the groups in the categories "what would you like to change in your appearance" and "pain and discomfort" (p<0.05). Conclusion: Esthetics related to dental positioning of the upper incisors greatly influenced motivation of the adolescents to seek orthodontic treatment. Skeletal anomalies and pain symptomatology had little influence on the adolescent perception.