Relationship between Severity of Periodontal Disease and Oral Health Related Quality of Life of New Dental Patients

: Diagnosis and treatment outcomes of periodontal disease have typically been evaluated using biomedical data such as probing depth. Recently, however, there is greater research focus on quality of life (QOL) in medical treatment. This study therefore aimed to clarify the relationship between periodontal disease severity and oral health-related QOL. Information was extracted from medical records of patients aged 30-64 years and who visited Nakai Dental Office for the first time between November 2014 to July 2017. Severity of periodontal disease was diagnosed by results of a baseline periodontal examina-tion, and then scored in accordance with the Community Periodontal Index and classified into four groups: (C, P1, P2, P3). QOL was assessed using the total score and seven subdomain scores from the Oral Health Impact Profile Short Version (OHIP-14). The Kruskal-Wallis test was then used to compare among the four groups of the total score of OHIP-14 and the seven subdomain scores. Comparison of the groupsʼ total OHIP-14 scores showed significant differences between P1 and P3 and between P2 and P3, while P3 had a significantly higher score than other groups. Comparison of the groupsʼ OHIP-14 subdomain scores showed significant differences between P1 and P3 and between P2 and P3 for “functional limitation,” and between P1 and P3 for “psychological discomfort,” while P3 had a significantly higher total score than other groups. There were no significant between-groups differences for the other five subdomain scores. Functional limitations was assessed subjectively as difficulty in chewing and food getting caught between teeth. Anxiousness and negativity regarding the dental problem were reported among psychological discomfort. Oral function appeared to subjectively decrease, while discomfort increased with worsening of periodontal disease. In general, QOL worsened. Among the subjects, severity of periodontal disease was associated with oral-health-related QOL. It was suggested that patients with more severe periodontal disease had subjectively more impaired oral function, more discomfort, and lower QOL.