Objective To explore the effect of individualized nursing under ADOPT problem solving mode on self-care ability of orthodontic patients. Methods A total of 80 orthodontic patients admitted to our orthodontic department from January to December 2021 were selected and randomly divided into control group and observation group with 40 cases in each group. The control group was given routine nursing, and the observation group was given individualized nursing under ADOPT problem solving mode. The self-management ability, quality of life and social psychological adaptability of the two groups before and after intervention were compared. Results The scores of quality of life and self-management ability in the two groups after one month of intervention were higher than those before intervention, and those in the observation group were higher than those in the control group, with significant difference (P<0.05). The scores of acceptance level, continuous worry and positive attitude in the observation group were higher than those in the control group, and the differences were statistically significant (P<0.05). Conclusion Individualized nursing under ADOPT problem solving model can improve the self-management ability and psychosocial adaptability of orthodontic patients, and improve the quality of life of patients.