Distinguishing between global and dental self-esteem in evaluating malocclusions.

Area of Science:

• Oral health research
• Psychology
• Adolescent health

Background:

• Malocclusion can impact self-esteem, with terms like global and dental self-esteem often used interchangeably.
• However, these concepts are distinct and their relationship with malocclusion requires clarification.

Purpose of the Study:

• To determine if global and dental self-esteem are distinguishable constructs.
• To investigate if these self-esteem types represent different underlying factors.
• To examine the relationship between malocclusion and both global and dental self-esteem.

Main Methods:

• 150 adolescents (aged 13) completed self-assessed measures of dental and global self-esteem.
• Orthodontic treatment need was assessed using the Dental Health Component of the Index of Orthodontic Treatment Need (IOTN-DHC).
• Data were analyzed using factor analyses and a 5 (IOTN-DHC grades) by 2 (global vs. dental self-esteem) ANOVA.

Main Results:

• Factor analyses confirmed that dental and global self-esteem measures are distinguishable.
• ANOVA results indicated that dental self-esteem significantly varied across IOTN-DHC grades, unlike global self-esteem.
• No significant gender differences were observed in self-esteem related to malocclusion.

Conclusions:

• Dental self-esteem is demonstrably related to malocclusion severity.
• Global self-esteem does not show a significant association with malocclusion.
• These findings highlight the importance of considering dental self-esteem specifically when evaluating the psychological impact of malocclusion.