THE EXAMINATION OF RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN ORTHODONTIC TREATMENT NEED AND QUALITY OF LIFE IN TURKISH CHILDREN TÜRK ÇOCUKLARINDA ORTODONTİK TEDAVİ İHTİYACI VE YAŞAM KALİTESİ ARASINDAKİ İLİŞKİNİN İNCELENMESİ

SUMMARY Objective: The aim of this research is to examine the associated with between orthodontic treatment need and quality of life (QoL) in Turkish children and to stress the association of this relation with some variables such as sociodemographic (age, gender, social class) factors, the level of orthodontic treatment need, frequency of visiting a dentist and treatment will. Material and Methods: Study group was consisted of 178 children who were between ages of 11 and 14, and had orthodontic treatment need. Control group was consisted of 100 children who had no or negligible orthodontic problems. Dental Health Component (DHC) of Index of Orthodontic Treatment Need (IOTN) was based to establish the orthodontic treatment need of every individual. To determine the effect of this need on QoL, shortened 16 items version Child Perception Questionnaire (CPQ11-14) and Child-Oral Impact of Daily Performance (Child-OIDP) index were used. Results: The results reveal that the averages of total QoL in study group is statistically significant lower than the control group for both questionnaires (p<0.05). Significantly lower QoL averages were experienced in CPQ11-14 questionnaires only in emotional and social well being domains, and in Child OIDP questionnaire only in smiling, emotional stability and social contact domains when compared control groups with study groups (p<0.05). Besides, statistically significant differences were determined in answers to the questions regarding the frequency of visiting a dentist and treatment will (p<0.05). Conclusion: The orthodontic treatment need significantly affects the QoL of school children in Erzurum, Turkey. However; this situation is associated with not the physical activities but with psychological activities of the child. It can be argued that the sub-titles such as oral symptoms and functional limitations of quality of life surveys with regard to oral health are not associated with orthodontics patients. OZET