Orofacial functions and quality of life in oral health in subjects with dentofacial deformity.

Purpose: To investigate the influence of the facial pattern in orofacial functions (OFFs) and quality of life (QoL), and their relationship in individuals with dentofacial deformities (DFD).

Methods: As approved by the Research Ethics Committee, 36 subjects, aged between 18 and 40 years, divided into three groups of seven female and five male participants, i.e., facial pattern I (n=12), pattern II (n=12) and pattern III (n=12), participated in this study. The OFFs were assessed using the MBGR protocol and QoL by the Oral Health Impact Profile (OHIP-14) questionnaire. Comparisons between OFFs and facial patterns were made using the Kruskal-Wallis test, and the correlation between the facial pattern and QoL by means of Spearman's test, considering a 5% significance level.

Results: A significant difference (p<0.05) was observed when comparing patterns I and II, and patterns I and III, with no difference between patterns II and III, neither in the OHIP-14 nor in the MBGR. A significant linear correlation (r=0.666; p<0.05) was verified between the MBGR and the OHIP-14, showing that the worse the OFFs, the worse the QoL.

Conclusion: The facial pattern influenced the performance of the OFFs and the QoL in individuals presenting DFD, with a greater occurrence of changes for patterns II and III, and the worse the OFFs, the worse the QoL in cases with DFD.