Evaluation of early changes in oral health-related quality of life amongst Nigerian patients undergoing fixed orthodontic appliance therapy

Summary Background The objective of the study was to evaluate changes in the oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL) during fixed appliance therapy. Methods Sixty-one patients requiring fixed appliance therapy participated in the study. OHRQoL was assessed in all participants using the United Kingdom Oral Health-Related Quality of Life (OHRQoL-UK) tool and the Psychosocial Impact of Dental Aesthetics Questionnaire (PIDAQ), at baseline (T 0 ), 1 week (T 1 ), 1 month (T 2 ), 3 months (T 3 ), and 6 months (T 4 ), after appliance placement. Friedman 2-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) and Wilcoxon signed rank tests were used to compare the changes at the P Results There was a significant deterioration in OHRQoL in the first week of treatment based on the OHRQoL-UK measure ( P  = 0.01). The PIDAQ, however, showed significant improvement in OHRQoL throughout the study period ( P Conclusion Fixed orthodontic appliance therapy can significantly improve the OHRQoL of individuals.