The Effect Of Orthodontic Intervention On Mental Health And Body Image

Through the years, the early orthodontic intervention has been established to affect our mental health and body image. If you have gone through the same, you can relate to it. There are multiple scientific pieces of evidence to back this up. In this post, we will talk about the impact of orthodontic intervention at an early age on a child’s mental health. So, without further delay, let’s start.

Before going through the technicalities, let me first discuss an orthodontic intervention.   

What Is An Orthodontic Intervention?

We as a human got two sets of teeth in our lifetime. Though dentists prefer not to intervene with a child’s teeth before a certain age, children often need medical help. This medical or dental intervention is called an Orthodontic Intervention.

While this method has its benefits, we often tend to forget the psychological part of it. Orthodontic interventions such as metal braces are quite common nowadays. Does this make them awkward? Let’s find out in this post.

Why Is Mental Health Important?

Do you know, according to the World Health Organization, mental health is one of the major problems that exist in the world right now. We have been taking care of our physical health for years. However, we raise some concerns about mental health. We haven’t taken enough steps forward.

When a child goes through early dental invention, he probably feels something. Often this feeling is not very positive. They can be extra conscious about their looks and shapes.

If we want to make some positive moves in curing mental health problems, we need to address the problem first. Only then it is possible to cure this giant disease.

Study On The Effect Of The Orthodontic Intervention On Mental Health

Fortunately, concerned people are there. Scientists and doctors have conducted multiple studies on the effect of orthodontic intervention on our mental health. These studies include several samples undergoing orthodontic intervention at an early age.

Their experience before and after can be gauged using Goldberg’s General Health Questionnaire, commonly known as GHQ and Multidimensional Body-Self Relations Questionnaire, popularly known as  MBSRQ.

Dentists who also offer orthodontic treatments have their input to the study. The result has come out. According to these studies, some children have gained confidence while others have lost it. You must be wondering, why is that? The orthodontic intervention has a direct impact on the way we look.

When we think our face is near to its perfect look, we tend to be more confident. When the difference between our ideal face and our present face is bigger, we tend to lose confidence and become very aware of that.

How Do We Cope With The Psychological Effects?

Adults can react to this problem differently from a child. Usually, when an adult goes through dental interventions, although they listen to some casual teasing, most people try to avoid them as much as possible. This is the right approach to dealing with these problems.

For children, the effects can be different. A child’s mind is tender; they are more likely to get affected by the slightest change. Modern dental treatments have gone several changes in recent years. Dentists are more concerned about children’s comfort and mental health.

We have discussed orthodontic intervention’s effect on mental health and body image. To learn more, you should consult an experienced person in this field.