The influence of social media access on self-perception of oral health-related quality of life considering the malocclusion among adolescents from Amazon region

Resumo

This cross-sectional study evaluated the influence of social media access on self-perception of oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL) considering the malocclusion among low-income adolescents from riverine and urban communities in the Amazon. 266 adolescents without access to social media, answered the Child Perceptions Questionnaire (CPQ 11-14) and were clinically evaluated to determine their malocclusion using the Dental Aesthetic Index (DAI). A multilevel Poisson regression analysis evaluated the association between variables related to the individuals (1st level) and regions (2nd level) and quality of life. DAI and CPQ mean values were, respectively, 29.6 (SD 6.8) and 8.3 (SD 6.9) for the adolescents from the riverine community farthest from the urban center, 24.5 (SD 6) and 11.8 (SD 7.9) for those living in the riverine area nearest to the urban center and 23.8 (SD 5.9) and 11.4 (SD 6.8) for urban adolescents. The severity of malocclusion had no statistically significant impact on self-perception of OHRQoL (RR 1.00 to 1.05). Adolescents in the remote areas reported a better quality of life (RR = 0.38, 95% CI = 0.24-0.60, p < 0.001), regardless the severity of dental malocclusion., than those in the urban area.