Journal of Oral Biology and Craniofacial Research (May 2018)
Assessing perceptions of oral health related quality of life in dental implant patients. Experience of a tertiary care center in India
Abstract
Background: Patients perception of treatment outcomes are invaluable assessment tools and are effective indicators for future prognosis. Various tools of measurement have been used to assess the same. The oral health impact profile questionnaire (OHIP 14) has been effectively used to evaluate the oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL) with regards to individual perceptions. This study was conducted to assess OHRQoL in patients who have had dental implants to replace missing teeth in the Department of Dental Surgery, Unit 1, Christian Medical College and Hospital, Vellore, TN, India by using the OHIP 14 questionnaire. Materials and Methods: A total of 107 patients who had treatment with dental implants were sent a modified form of the OHIP 14 questionnaire. An attempt was made to draw an inference by correlating scores of the OHIP 14 with data pertaining to key independent variables. Gamma regression was applied to the results as the outcome score distribution was skewed. All statistical analyses were performed using SPSS Version 21.0. Results: The mean score for the OHIP 14 was 16.82 with the highest score of 30 for a total score of 70. OHIP 14 scores were higher in patients with implant-supported fixed dental prosthesis as compared to patients with single implant supported crowns (P = 0.0069). Patients with no complaints scored 9% lesser than those who reported complaints (P = 0.0438). Conclusion: Assessing quality of life with regards to specific treatment interventions may help to draw critical inferences that determine overall success. Results from the study enabled us to delineate and appreciate the success imparted by esthetics and function from the general well being imparted by treatment with dental implants. Social media could be used to positively improve responses in questionnaire based studies. Future studies using implant specific OHRQoL questionnaire may help to elicit unbiased patient perception in dental implant patients.
