association between malocclusion, self-perception, self-esteem and socio-demographic factors among primary schoolchildren in dar es salaam, tanzania

Aim: the aim of this study was to assess the association between malocclusion, self-perception, self-esteem, and socio-demographic factors among primary schoolchildren in dar es salaam, tanzania. methods: this was an analytical cross-sectional study that involved children aged 10-12 years from primary schools in dar es salaam. a questionnaire was used to obtain information about the participants’ socio-demographics, self-perception and self-esteem. clinical examination was done to determine their occlusal statuses. data were analyzed using spss software (version 22.0), and chi-square test and logistic regression model were used to assess statistically significant differences between variables. p<0.05 was considered as significant. results: a total of 620 schoolchildren participated in this study. the overall prevalence of malocclusion was 66.5%. undesirable self-perception was reported in 34.0% and self-esteem issues in 30.0% of the schoolchildren. significantly, many participants with less educated fathers had malocclusion compared with their counterparts (p=0.002). furthermore, most children with malocclusion perceived themselves negatively and reported lower self-esteem compared with those who had no malocclusion (78.7% vs. 21.3%, p=0.000 and 75.8% vs. 24.2%, p=0.001, respectively). in the logistic regression model, the presence of malocclusion remained as a significant determinant of schoolchildren perceiving themselves negatively and reporting lower self-esteem (or: 2.4, ci: 1.62-3.54, p= 0.000 and or: 1.82, ci: 1.23-2.7, p= 0.003, respectively). conclusion: the presence of malocclusion was associated with children’s negative self-perception and lower self-esteem. malocclusion prevention and early interventions in children are highly recommended.