Research Paper: The impact of growth modification therapy on oral health related quality of life of adolescents: A survey during the COVID-19 pandemic

Abstract Introduction: This cross-sectional research compares the changes in quality of life (QoL) in adolescents experiencing growth modification therapy affected by the COVID-19 pandemic from 2019 to 2020. The participants were among those referring to the orthodontic department of Hamadan Dental School. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of growth modification on oral health related quality of life of adolescents during the COVID-19 pandemic. Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted from July 2020 to March 2021. The participants included 34 individuals (18 boys and 16 girls) with skeletal class II cases aged 10-13 years old undergoing removable growth modification treatment in Hamadan university of medical sciences. We measured the oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL) before therapy and six months later. Persian translation of the Oral Health Impact Profile (OHIP‑14) survey was employed to assess the OHRQoL. Data were analyzed by paired t-test, Pearson correlation coefficients, and T-test at a P-value of 0.05. Results: Total OHIP did not show significant changes in any domains of functional limitation, social disability, mental disability, mental distress, physical pain, physical disability, and social disability during 6 months (ANOVA test P = 0.05). Conclusion:Growth modification in adolescents with class II malocclusion did not show a significant short-term impact on patients’ QoL within the first 6 months of therapy.