The consequences of living with a severe malocclusion: A review of the literature

Abstract

Aim: To facilitate the orthognathic shared decision-making process by identifying and applying existing research evidence to establish the potential consequences of living with a severe malocclusion.

Methods: A comprehensive narrative literature review was conducted to explore the potential complications of severe malocclusion. A systematic electronic literature search of four databases combined with supplementary hand searching identified 1024 articles of interest. A total of 799 articles were included in the narrative literature review, which was divided into 10 themes: Oral Health Related Quality Of Life; Temporomandibular Joint Dysfunction; Masticatory Limitation; Sleep Apnoea; Traumatic Dental Injury; Tooth Surface Loss; Change Over Time; Periodontal Injury; Restorative Difficulty; and Functional Shift and Dual Bite. A deductive approach was used to draw conclusions from the evidence available within each theme.

Results: The narrative literature review established 27 conclusions, indicating that those living with a severe malocclusion may be predisposed to a range of potential consequences. With the exception of Oral Health Related Quality Of Life, which is poorer in adults with severe malocclusion than those with normal occlusions, and the risk of Traumatic Dental Injury, which increases when the overjet is >5 mm in the permanent and 3 mm in the primary dentition, the evidence supporting the remaining conclusions was found to be of low to moderate quality and at high risk of bias.

Conclusion: This article summarises the findings of a comprehensive narrative literature review in which all of the relevant research evidence within a substantive investigative area is established and evaluated. Notwithstanding limitations regarding the quality of the available evidence; when combined with clinical expertise and an awareness of individual patient preferences, the conclusions presented may facilitate the orthognathic shared decision-making process and furthermore, may guide the development of the high-quality longitudinal research required to validate them.

Keywords: aetiology of malocclusion and growth; craniofacial growth; genetics of malocclusion; health services and quality of life aspects; interdisciplinary treatment; malocclusion; occlusal development; orthognathic surgery; orthognathic treatment; quality of life and orthodontics; restorative-orthodontic interface; risk/benefit assessment; sleep apnoea.

Figure 1.

The potential consequences of living with a severe malocclusion.