Oral health-related quality of life in patients with hypersensitive teeth

Objectives: Dentin hypersensitivity is a common oral complaint that affects the teeth of many individuals. Increasingly, attention is being given to assess the effects of various health situations on an individual's quality of life (QoL). The aim of the present study was to characterize the level of oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL) in patients with hypersensitive teeth. Methods: A subsample of 626 patients was selected from a multi-center study in Germany (n=713) of dentin hypersensitivity treatment. These patients were requested to complete the German version of the Oral Health Impact Profile (OHIP-G) before treatment. The sum of OHIP-G item responses (OHIP-G49, range 0-196) characterized the OHRQoL impairment of the patients with hypersensitive teeth. Patients' OHRQoL was compared with OHIP scores from the general population sample (n=1541). OHIP-G mean score differences between patients and population subjects were analyzed using the t-test procedure in independent samples. Level of significance was set at 95%. Results: The mean value for patients was 34.8 (± 23.0) OHIP-G49 units, the population subjects showed a mean value of 12.2 (± 18.4) OHIP-G49 units. This difference was clinically relevant and statistically significant (p<0.001). A gender and age influence was observed - older people and women reported more problems, i.e. more impaired OHRQoL. Conclusions: The present study demonstrates that hypersensitive teeth are substantially associated with impaired OHRQoL. The study was supported by GABA Germany.