Oral health-related quality of life among prosthodontic patients in Telangana, India

Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate factors affecting oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL) of patients using a removable dental prosthesis. Methodology: The present study employed a cross-sectional analytical design. A total of 100 patients participated and interviewed using a cross-sectional analytical design. In the first section of the questionnaire, patients were asked about demographic data whereas the second part of the questionnaire assessed medical history, oral habits, smoking status, oral hygiene habits, and frequency of dental visit. The questionnaire also collected information regarding the patient's removable prosthesis. Questionnaire of Oral Health Impact Profile (OHIP-DENT) was also employed to measure oral health QoL (OHRQoL) on the domains of functional limitation (FL), physical pain (P1), psychological discomfort (P2), physical disability (D1), psychological disability (D2), social disability (D3) and handicap (H). Relationships between the demographic, socioeconomic, and education variables and others OHIP-EDENT scores were explored by comparing mean scores by applying ANOVA. Results: The OHIP-DENT score of participants was calculated for each domain for their mean and standard deviation values. The highest score was recorded for the FL domain (15.82 ± 6.6), followed by social disability (D3) (15.23 ± 5.06) and physical pain (P1) (14.29 ± 4.8). The respective scores for physical disability (D1), psychological disability (D2), and handicap (H) were 10.47 ± 4.84, 11.32 ± 5.38, and 12.45 ± 4.50, respectively. The lowest score was recorded for psychological discomfort (P2) (7.51 ± 4.11). Conclusion: Removable partial denture patients showed minimum problems with mastication, social compromise, and functional discomfort. The oral health QoL of removable denture patients is significantly influenced by patient education level, socioeconomic status, medical conditions, smoking, and tobacco use habits.