Periodontal conditions and quality-of-life impacts among patients diagnosed with periodontitis

Objectives: To examine consequences of periodontitis on diagnosed patients presenting for specialist care in government clinics. Methods: Following ethics approval, one hundred and thirty-nine patients newly diagnosed with periodontitis were recruited from five government periodontics clinics over a period of seven months. Diagnosis was based on presence of periodontal pockets at least 4mm deep. All patients completed an Oral Health Impact Profile (OHIP-14S) and Euroqol EQ-5D-3L questionnaire as well as provide basic socio-demographic information. The reason/s for clinical attendance and presence of co-morbidities were also recorded. Results: A total of 107 (77%) of patients were diagnosed with chronic periodontitis while the remaining suffered aggressive periodontitis. Most common reasons for original attendance were bleeding gums (37%), swollen gums (34%) and mobile teeth (32%). Mean OHIP score was 22.1 (SD 11.1) and was seen higher in aggressive periodontitis patients compared to chronic periodontitis patients (t-test, p=0.236). Highest prevalence of impacts overall was for psychological discomfort (96%) and functional limitation (94%) dimensions. EQ5D scores demonstrated highest proportions for items related to pain/discomfort (55%) and anxiety/depression (33%). About 80% of all patients rated their overall oral health to be fair/poor. Conclusion: The consequences of periodontitis in diagnosed patients impact quality of life - namely psychological discomfort and functional limitation (as measured using OHIP) as well as pain/discomfort and anxiety/depression (as measured using EQ5D).