• A H AlJameel, K Almoammar, N F Alfawaz, S A Alqahtani, G A Alotaibi, and S F Albarakati.
• Department of Periodontics and Community Dentistry, College of Dentistry, College of Dentistry, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
• Niger J Clin Pract. 2023 Mar 1; 26 (3): 267273267-273.

Background And AimMalocclusion can negatively impact the quality of life of children. Therefore, this study assesses the impact of proxy-reported malocclusion and oral health-related quality of life among children in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, from the parents or guardians' perspectives.Materials And MethodsA self-administered electronic questionnaire was used to assess the correlation between proxy-reported malocclusion conditions during the early mixed dentition stage (children age 6-12 years) and oral health-related quality of life using the OHIP-14 measure. All collected data were analyzed using SPSS.ResultsAmong the 353 participants in the study, anterior open-bite was the most common proxy-reported malocclusion with a prevalence of 19%, followed by unilateral posterior cross bite (13.3%). Furthermore, 31% reported that their children sometimes experienced negative impacts on quality of life from malocclusions. The results also show that OHIP-14 scores were significantly associated with all proxy-reported malocclusion (p < 0.05). The highest OHIP-14 score was found to be significantly associated with the presence of deep-bite from parents' or guardians' perspective.ConclusionThe presence of some proxy-assessed malocclusion was associated with negative impacts on children's oral health-related quality of life. This is very important to consider when assessing the need for orthodontic intervention, especially at this stage as this age is critical in building a child's confidence and self-esteem.

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