Long-term changes in oral health-related quality of life of standard, cleft, and surgery patients after orthodontic treatment: A longitudinal study

Introduction The aim of this study was to assess long-term changes and describe the trajectories of oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL) in a cohort of cleft, surgery, and standard patients who received orthodontic treatment. Methods Standard (n = 16), cleft (n = 19), and orthognathic surgery (n = 22) patients completed the short-form of the Oral Health Impact Profile (OHIP-14) before treatment, immediately posttreatment, and approximately 5 years posttreatment. Results An overall reduction in OHIP-14 scores (improvement in OHRQoL) occurred after orthodontic treatment; however, this was only significant for the surgery and standard groups ( P P P P  >0.05). By contrast, the OHIP-14 score in the cleft group increased but not significantly (40.2%; P  >0.05). Using a mixed model analysis, a significant interaction was detected between patient group and time (ie, study time point) (F = 6.0; P Conclusions Distinct patient groups showed different OHRQoL trajectories after orthodontic treatment. Treatment-related improvements in OHRQoL are maintained over time for surgery patients, but not for those with standard malocclusions and orofacial clefts.