Antidepressants Effect on the Self-perception and Satisfaction of Patients Rehabilitated with Bimaxillary Removable Dental Prostheses

Abstract

Introduction: In addition to restoring function, aesthetics and phonetics, dental prostheses have the potential to improve patients’ personal image, social interactions and quality of life. Aim: Primarily, to evaluate the influence of antidepressant medications, and secondarily evaluate the type of prosthesis, number of remaining teeth, age of the patients, and time of using of the prostheses on the self-perception of oral health conditions and satisfaction in a group of rehabilitated with bimaxillary removable dentures patients using the instrument Oral Health Impact Profile (OHIP-14) and Visual Analog Scale (VAS). Materials and Methods: This is a cross-sectional clinical study which evaluated 175 medical records of patients who underwent oral rehabilitation with removable prosthesis (total and/or partial prosthesis) between 2014 and 2019. A total of 23 patients aged from 40 to 90-year-old participated in the study. The impact of oral health conditions on quality of life was assessed by the OHIP-14 questionnaire. Patients’ satisfaction about the rehabilitation was assessed by VAS according to the following criteria: chewing function, comfort, stability, retention and aesthetics. The use of antidepressants was evaluated as factor potentially related to patient satisfaction with the use of removable dental prostheses. The results were analysed by Mann-Whitney (p≤0.05). Results: Antidepressant users had higher overall OHIP scores (p=0.04), higher physical pain average (p=0.038), more psychological discomfort (p=0.03) and more physical disability (p=0.03). Patients not using antidepressants were more satisfied with the stability/retention of the prostheses (p=0.019). Individuals older than 60 presented greater physical (chewing) disability in the use of removable prostheses (p=0.04). Patients whose removable prostheses were installed more than three years ago had less functional domain (p=0.03) and decreased ability to chew when compared to patients with newer prosthesis (p=0.02). Conclusion: Use of antidepressants for at least one year, advanced age (over 60-year-old), and use of prosthesis for more than three years are factors directly related to self-perceived oral health and patient satisfaction about the prosthetic rehabilitation.

Keywords

• dental prosthesis
• oral health
• personal satisfaction
• quality of life