Oral health-related quality of life in institutionalised elderly

Objectives: The aim of this study was to investigate the influence of denture characteristics and general issues on the oral health-related (OHRQoL) quality of life in institutionalised elderly. Methods: 158 subjects from old people`s homes were selected (mean 82.8 years). The OHRQoL was measured with the Oral Health Impact Profile (OHIP). (1) Denture characteristics (kind and age of denture, retention and number of static occlusal points) and (2) general issues (age, gender, social status and general pain status) were assessed. All factors were tested bivariate to OHIP summery score (OHIP-SC) and for subjects with removable dentures (n=128) in a linear regression model using backward elimination process with OHIP-SC as dependent variable. Results: In bivariate analysis (1) retention, age of denture and number of static occlusal points and (2) general pain status and education showed significant influence on OHIP-SC. In the final linear regression model general pain status, education level and retention of denture remained on statistical significant level. The model explained approximately 34% of the variance of the OHIP-SC. The kind of denture shows no significant impact on OHIP-SC both in bivariate testing and regression model (for complete denture compared to partial). Conclusions: In contrast to previous studies, for this highly specific sample of elderly the kind of denture shows little impact on OHIP-SC. However, retention of the dentures, social factors and general pain status demonstrated remarkable influence on OHRQoL in elderly.