Assessing Change in Oral-health-related Quality of Life Using GOHAI and OHIP14

Objective: To assess the change in quality of life in institutionalized Chinese elderly following provision of outreach primary dental care. Methods: In 1999, over 200 Hong Kong Chinese adults aged between 60 and 80 years living in fifteen elderly homes completed a validated Chinese version of OHIP14 and GOHAI in a face-to-face interview. Then free primary dental treatment, including extractions, scaling, fillings, fluoride varnish, and chairside denture repairs, was provided to them using portable equipment according to their needs every year. In 2002, the subjects were interviewed again at least six months after the last treatment. Results: So far 120 dentate elderly were interviewed at the evaluation. 37 of them had received dental care three times or more during the last three years (regular users). There was no statistically significant difference in the changes of mean GOHAI and OHIP14 scores between the regular dental service users and those who were not (p>0.05). The change in OHIP14 scores was found to be correlated with the change in GOHAI scores (r=0.60, p<0.01). A higher percentage of the regular dental service users became more satisfied with their oral health than those who were not (32.4% vs. 21.6%, p = 0.024). Proportionally more of the subjects who had received dental treatment, especially extraction, during the last three years became more satisfied with their oral health than those who had not (29.0% vs. 15.8%, p = 0.016). Conclusion: Little change in the mean GOHAI and OHIP14 scores were found among the institutionalized Chinese elderly over a three-year period, irrespective of whether they were regular dental service users or not. However, provision of an outreach dental treatment, especially extraction, led to a higher satisfaction among the elderly. The outreach dental service was funded by the S.K. Yee Medical Foundation.