Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Comparative Study
. 2018 Nov;154(5):639-644.
doi: 10.1016/j.ajodo.2018.01.013.

Patient satisfaction and quality of life status after 2 treatment modalities: Invisalign and conventional fixed appliances

Carlos Flores-Mir  1 , Jeremy Brandelli  1 , Camila Pacheco-Pereira  2
Affiliations
Comparative Study

Patient satisfaction and quality of life status after 2 treatment modalities: Invisalign and conventional fixed appliances

Carlos Flores-Mir et al. Am J Orthod Dentofacial Orthop. 2018 Nov.

Abstract

Introduction: Our objectives were to assess patient satisfaction and quality of life among adults via 2 validated comprehensive questionnaires and to compare patient satisfaction and status in oral health-related quality of life immediately after orthodontic treatment in patients treated with Invisalign (Align Technology, San Jose, Calif) and those who received standard bracket-based treatment.

Methods: Adult patients (n = 145) treated with bracket-based or Invisalign therapy were recruited from several private practices and a university clinic. The survey comprised a combination of the Dental Impacts on Daily Living index and the Patient Satisfaction Questionnaire. This 94-question assessment focused on various dimensions of satisfaction and quality of life. Multivariate analysis of variance and the bootstrap test were applied. A reliability analysis was used to assess responses at a 6-month follow-up for a small sample of patients.

Results: Finally, 122 patients were assessed. The multivariate analysis of variance analysis showed that the eating and chewing dimension was significantly different between the 2 groups (Invisalign, 49%; bracket based, 24%; P = 0.047). No significant difference in any other satisfaction factors (all, P > 0.05) was identified. The follow-up assessment was only possible in a small sample of the bracket group; it showed adequate reliability values on the categories of oral comfort (intraclass correlation coefficient [ICC], 0.71), general performance (ICC, 0.755), situational (ICC, 0.80), and doctor-patient relationship (ICC, 0.75).

Conclusions: Of the patients surveyed to assess their satisfaction and oral health-related quality of life immediately after completion of their orthodontic treatment, both the bracket-based and Invisalign treated patients had statistically similar satisfaction outcomes across all dimensions analyzed, except for eating and chewing: the Invisalign group reported more satisfaction. Patient satisfaction remained relatively similar 6 months later for the bracket-type treatment.

PubMed Disclaimer

Comment in