Reported Impact of Oral Alterations on the Quality of Life of Adolescents: A Systematic Review

Introduction: Alterations in the oral health condition can compromise the function and well-being of individuals. Objective: To seek scientific evidence that oral problems have influence on the quality of life of adolescents. Method: A search was performed in four full-text electronic database (MEDLINE, LILACS, BVS Adolec and Cochrane Library), comprising publications from January 2000 to October 2011, without restriction of language, which was complemented by manual search in the references of the retrieved papers. The following descriptors were used: "adolescen*", "oral health" and "quality of life". Results: The search retrieved 593 articles. From the analysis of titles and abstracts, two examiners agreed 100% on the selection of 29 papers that were read in full. Among them, 13 fulfilled the eligibility criteria, after consensual decision of the examiners: 4 were case reports and 9 were cross-sectional studies. No clinically controlled studies were found on this subject. The papers included in the study were evaluated with respect to their methodological quality. Malocclusion was the most studied clinical condition due to its potential of influencing the quality of life, followed by traumatic tooth injuries, dental caries and dental erosion. Conclusion: Except for dental erosion, the evaluated oral alterations had a reportedly negative impact on the quality of life of adolescents relative to oral health. Nevertheless, further longitudinal studies, especially those with the control of confusion factors, are required to enlighten the evidence level of such conclusion.