Oral health-related quality of life in complete denture wearers depending on their socio-demographic background, prosthetic-related factors and clinical condition.

Objectives: To investigate the differences in impact on oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL) among complete denture wearers depending on their socio-demographic characteristics, prosthetic-related factors and oral status.

Study Design: 51 patients aged 50-90 years treated, from 2005 to 2010, with at least one complete denture at the Department of Buccofacial Prostheses of the Complutense University (Madrid) were enrolled in this cross-sectional study. All of the participants answered the Oral Health Impact Profile (OHIP-14sp) questionnaire. The additive scoring method was used. The prevalence of impacts was calculated by using the occasional threshold (OHIP-14sp score ≥ 2). Socio-demographic and prosthetic-related variables were gathered. Patients underwent clinical examination to assess their oral condition. Descriptive probes and Chi-Square tests were run (p ≤ 0.05).

Results: The predominant participants' profile was that of a man with a mean age of 69 years wearing complete dentures in both the maxilla and the mandible. The prevalence of impact was 23.5%, showing an average score of 19 ± 9.8. The most affected domains were "functional limitation" and "physical pain", followed by "physical disability". Minor impacts were recorded for the psychological and social subscales ("psychological discomfort", "psychological disability", "social disability" and "handicap"). The prosthesis' location significantly influenced the overall patient satisfaction, the lower dentures being the less comfortable. Having a complete removable denture as antagonist significantly hampered the patient satisfaction. Patients without prosthetic stomatitis and those who need repairing or changing their prostheses, recorded significantly higher OHIP-14sp total scores.

Conclusions: The use of conventional complete dentures brings negative impacts in the OHRQoL of elderly patients, mainly in case of lower prostheses that required reparation or substitution, with a removable total denture as antagonist. The prosthetic stomatitis in this study was always associated to other severe illness, which may have influenced the self-perceived discomfort with the prostheses, as those patients were daily medicated with painkillers.