Oral-health-related Quality of Life before and after Prosthodontic Treatment

Objective: Quality of life has initially been used as an outcome in social and economical research. However, little information is available about the change in the overall well-being of patient`s before and after prosthodontic treatment. Beside the mostly used Oral Health Impact Profile (OHIP), the Oral Impacts on Daily Performances Index (OIDPI) is an appropriate means to analyze the well being of patients. Purpose: The aim of this study was to evaluate the change of the OIDPI in patients before and after prosthodontic treatment with partial removable dentures retained by telescopic crowns. Method: A group of 39 patients with insuffient prosthetic restorations were treated with partial removable dentures retained by telescopic crowns in the student courses. Oral health related quality of life was measured by OIDPI before and 3 to 6 months after incorporation of the telescopic retained dentures. Results: Significantly differences were found between dental impact on daily performance before and after treatment (Wilcoxon, p<0.05). With regard to the categories: appearance (1), do not feel pain (2), comfort (3), no eating restriction (4) and performance (5), significant differences were found in category 3 (p<0.05) as well as in category 1 and 4 (p<0.01). Conclusions: The data suggest that well-being and daily performance of the patients is strongly related to adequate prosthodontic treatment in case of telescopic retained dentures. Consequently, adequate prosthodontic treatment is appropriate to improve quality of life.