Quality of life assessment in orthognathic surgery patients with dentofacial deformity

Evaluating the quality of life of participant with normal facial features in the Kurdish society and quality of life assessment of patients with dentofacial deformities corrected by orthognathic surgery and comparing their satisfaction with those of patients with dentofacial deformities, the comparison is performed by applying the orthognathic quality of life questionnaire (OQLQ).

Three groups of participants were interviewed, and orthognathic quality of life questionnaire (OQLQ) was used to assess generic health-related quality of life. They were asked to complete the Kurdish version of the 22-item orthognathic quality of life questionnaire (OQLQ) of SJ cunningham for the control, the deformity and the operated patient groups. Responses were compared using paired t-tests, with the significance level set to P<0.05.

The results showed that there is a strong impact of the dentofacial deformity on people in the society, and there is a significant difference between the QOL of normal people in comparison with people with dentofacial deformities P<0.05. In addition There were statistical differences in the satisfaction of four domains of the questionnaire (oral function, facial aesthetics, psychological, and social aspects), between QOL of patients that had correction of the deformity and the non-operated patients with same kind of deformities. This indicated that quality of life was significantly higher in patients operated on by orthognathic surgery (P<0.001). Results showed statistical differences between groups and suggested that people with no deformity (normal) and those subjected to orthognathic surgery have a better quality of life compared to those with a facial deformity and experiencing a QOL that is near normal.

Dentofacial correction by orthognathic surgery seems to have a positive effect on the quality of life and it is an effective method in normalization of the social and psychological state.