Tooth loss results in deteriorated psychological, functional and social status of an individual. Oral health related quality of life ( OHRQoL ) has been considered as an outcome measure to assess these consequences of edentulism and available treatment options. Quality of life (QOL) is affected significantly by wearing of removable partial denture ( RPD ) or complete denture which may also cause deteriorated oral function. OBJECTIVE:
The objective of the study was 1. Assessment of improvement in OHRQoL after provision of RPD with different Kennedys classes in first time denture wearers
STUDY DESIGN: It was a Descriptive case series.
MATERIALS AND METHODS: Total 110 partially dentate subjects were studied. All the subjects were given OHIP-14 questionnaire before and one month after provision of RPD. The before and after treatment responses were recorded on 5 point Likert scale. The post treatment scores were compared with pretreatment baseline scores and a decrease of 15 or more in post treatment scores was considered as an improvement in OHRQoL. RESULTS: In majority of study subjects the pretreatment responses in OHIP-14 questionaire were at the higher end of the Likert scale, indicating negative impacts on OHRQoL parameters. Whilst post provision responses showed improvement in 56% of the subjects. CONCLUSION: The study subjects found an impaired OHRQoL in partially dentate subjects before the provision of the RPD, suggested that partial edentulism is associated with negative aspects on quality of life. RPD therapy results in improvement in OHRQoL. Thus RPD has a positive impact on the OHRQoL in more than half of study popula