Abstract: This study aimed to develop and validate the Malocclusion Impact Scale for Early Childhood (MIS-EC), a malocclusion-specific measure of oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL) of children aged 3-5 years and their parents/caregivers. A pool of items was analysed to identify those relevant to the assessment of the impact of malocclusion on OHRQoL. Dental professionals and mothers of children with and without malocclusion rated the importance of these items. The final version of the MIS-EC was evaluated in a cross-sectional study comprising 381 parents of children aged 3–5 years to assess construct validity, internal consistency and test-retest reliability. Twenty-two items were identified from item pooling. After item reduction, eight items were chosen to constitute the MIS-EC, in addition to two general questions. The MIS-EC demonstrated good internal consistency (Cronbach’s alpha = 0.79 for the Child Impact section and 0.53 for the Family Impact section), and excellent test-retest reliability (ICC = 0.94), floor effect was 55.7% and ceiling effect 0%. MIS-EC scores indicating worse OHRQoL were significantly associated with the presence of malocclusion (p < 0.05). The MIS-EC is reliable and valid for assessing the impact of malocclusion on the OHRQoL of preschool children and their parents/caregivers.

OBJETIVO: o objetivo dessa revisão sistemática foi verificar se existem evidências científicas que comprovam a efetividade da TMO como agente coadjuvante do tratamento ortodôntico de indivíduos com distúrbios orofaciais. Além disso, avaliar a qualidade metodológica dos estudos incluídos nessa revisão. MÉTODOS: uma busca eletrônica foi realizada em 8 bases de dados (MEDLINE, BBO, LILACS, Web of Science, EMBASE, BIREME, Cochrane Library e Scielo), sem restrição de idioma. A busca foi realizada com artigos publicados no período compreendido entre janeiro de 1965 a março de 2011. A seleção dos artigos e extração dos dados foi realizada por dois revisores independentes. Avaliação da qualidade dos artigos também foi realizada. RESULTADOS: a estratégia de busca resultou em 355 publicações. Após seleção baseada nos critérios de elegibilidade, quatro artigos foram qualificados para análise final. A todos os artigos incluídos nessa revisão foram atribuídos um alto risco de viés. CONCLUSÇÕES: os resultados do presente estudo demonstram a escassez de estudos consistentes e de evidências científicas que indicam a utilização da TMO em associação ao tratamento ortodôntico com a finalidade de promover melhores resultados na correção de desordens dentofaciais em indivíduos com distúrbios orofaciais.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of the present systematic review was to determine the existence of scientific evidence demonstrating the effectiveness of orofacial myofunctional therapy (OMT) as an adjuvant to orthodontic treatment in individuals with orofacial disorders. A further aim was to assess the methodological quality of the studies included in the review. METHODS: An electronic search was performed in eight databases (Medline, BBO, LILACS, Web of Science, EMBASE, BIREME, Cochrane Library and SciELO) for papers published between January 1965 and March 2011, with no language restrictions. Selection of articles and data extraction were performed by two independent researchers. The quality of the selected articles was also assessed. RESULTS: Search strategy resulted in the retrieval of 355 publications, only four of which fulfilled the eligibility criteria and qualified for final analysis. All papers selected had a high risk of bias. CONCLUSIONS: The findings of the present systematic review demonstrate the scarcity of consistent studies and scientific evidence supporting the use of OMT in combination with orthodontic treatment to achieve better results in the correction of dentofacial disorders in individuals with orofacial abnormalities.