Jean Érick Langoski, Ana Claudia Lima de Oliveira Meira, Milton Santamaria-Junior, Carolina Carmo de Menezes, Marcelo de Castro Meneghim, Silvia Amélia Scudeler Vedovello
The aim of this study was to compare the esthetic, functional, and psychosocial impact of mandibular crowding and maxillary midline diastema in black adolescents. A cross-sectional study was conducted with 420 black (brown and black, distinguished according to Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics - IBGE) adolescents aged 12 with normal occlusal relationships. Esthetic (OASIS) and functional/psychosocial (OHIP-14) impact related to the need for orthodontic treatment in groups with mandibular crowding and maxillary midline diastema, and those without these conditions: G1, without crowding and diastema (n 113); G2, without crowding and with diastema (n 67); G3, with crowding and without diastema (n 202); and G4, diastema, and crowding (n 38) were evaluated. Generalized linear models were estimated for the effects of diastema, crowding, and the interaction between them, with a significance level of 5%. There was no significant influence of crowding and diastema on the OHIP-14 (p>0.05). However, the groups with diastema had higher OASIS scores, irrespective of crowding (p<0.05). The maxillary midline diastema influenced the esthetic perception of black adolescents.
