Qol Changes in HIV+ Patients Attending a Portuguese Dental Clinic

Objectives: To assess the impact of a comprehensive oral care program on daily performance and quality of life in HIV-infected individuals. Methods: This was a prospective case series study that comprised one group of HIV-positive patients (n=24) attending an HIV-devoted dental care clinic in Lisbon, Portugal (CMD-ABRAÇO). A signed consent was obtained for all participants. Patients were examined at baseline by a calibrated observer for their oral health needs and a comprehensive oral health care plan (COHCP) was established. At the baseline and conclusion of the COHCP the 49-item Oral Health Impact Profile (OHIP - validated Portuguese version) was administered. Results for each question were expressed as distributed frequencies. For the OHIP dimensional analysis and evaluations, total and subscale scores were determined by addition. All 49-item values were summed to generate the OHIP-ADD score. All these values were also converted in percentage of maximum score (MS). Normality was assessed for each variable with a Kolmogorov–Smirnov test. Chi-square, unpaired and paired Student t tests were used as appropriate and significance level was set at α=0.05. Results: Dimensional analysis at baseline indicated elevated impact in all dimensions, ranging from 6,16±5,31 (31% of MS) for social disability to 17,75±6,99 (48% of MS) for functional limitation and 10,46±5,47 (52% of MS) for psychological discomfort. All OHIP question scores were significantly improved after COHCP. Post dimensional scores ranged from 0,5± 0,93 (2,5% of MS) for social disability to 8,37±6,37 (23% of MS) for functional limitation. Before and post COHCP values for OHIP-ADD were 84,58± 39,42 (43% of MS) and 24,54±23,48 (12% of MS), respectively. Conclusions: In this study HIV patients had a considerable negative oral health condition with significant impact in their quality of life, which improved significantly after comprehensive dental care.