Orthodontic Appliance Impact Questionnaire Development
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Development of an Impact of Orthodontic Appliances Questionnaire
IRAS ID
211173
Contact name
Philip E. Benson
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 11 months, 31 days
Research summary
Research Summary
Malocclusion is any deviation from the ideal arrangement of teeth. Surveys in schools have shown that about one third of 12 year olds have a significant deviation of teeth from the ideal, which, in the view of the profession, requires correction. Orthodontics treatment involves correction of malocclusion and aims to improve a child’s dental health and social well-being.Wearing braces can be a serious inconvenience to some young people. In addition, to pain/discomfort and appearance, the brace interferes with eating, cleaning and requires regular visits to the orthodontist. Braces occasionally break, requiring extra, unscheduled trips. We propose to develop a questionnaire, using the views of young people and their parents, which attempts to measure the impact of wearing a brace. This will help clinicians better understand the experiences of young people. It might also identify those who are struggling to cope with their braces and want to finish treatment, against the advice of their orthodontist. It would also be useful for research, in particular clinical trials comparing the effects of different braces.
The project includes two stages. The first stage involves interviewing a relatively small number of young people (maximum 40, aged 11 to 17 year olds), to gain insight into their experiences of living with a brace. The information obtained will be used to develop a questionnaire, which will be tested in the second stage. The questionnaire will be given to two small groups of about 5 young people, to discuss and amend. Finally the developed questionnaire will be tested through surveying a larger group (about 150 to 200) of young people wearing braces. We anticipate that the questionnaire will be a valid and reliable way of measuring the impact of braces on the daily life of young people.
Summary of Results
In the first part of the study twenty-six orthodontic patients aged 11–17 years participated with in-depth semi-structured interviews. They described physical, practical and emotional impacts from their orthodontic braces, but reported ‘getting used’ to and, therefore, not being too bothered by them. Framework analysis of the data identified a multi-dimensional social process of managing everyday life with a brace.This involves addressing the ‘dys-appearance’ of the body through physically adapting and included psychological approaches, drawing on social networks, developing strategies and situating experiences in a longer-term context. Engaging in this process allowed young people to address the physical, practical and emotional impacts of their brace.
The information from the qualitative interviews was used to patient reported questionnaire to measure the impact of wearing braces (the Orthodontic Treatment Impact Questionnaire or OTIQ). The face and content validity of OTIQ were tested in two focus groups, involving seven young people, then 181 completed OTIQ once (117 females, 64 males; mean age 14.7 yrs, SD 1.5) and 41 completed OTIQ a second time. This initial version of OTIQ was tested and modified using item response theory. OTIQ demonstrated good construct validity, reliability, and internal consistency. Further testing to assess generalisability and longitudinal responsiveness is required.REC name
North East - Newcastle & North Tyneside 1 Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
16/NE/0367
Date of REC Opinion
7 Nov 2016
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion