[Oral health-related quality of life before and after bariatric surgery].

Obesity seems to adversely affect oral health-related quality of life. Remakably, several studies show a further decrease of oral health-related quality of life after bariatric surgery despite the weight loss. The objective of this study was to assess the perceived oral health-related quality of life in dentulous, obese patients and in dentulous, bariatric patients at least one year after they underwent surgery. This was assessed using the validated Dutch short version of the Oral Health Impact Profile questionnaire, consisting of 14 questions divided into 7 categories. A higher score on this questionnaire indicate a lower oral health-related quality of life. Based on the collected data of 440 patients, the overall oral health-related quality of life seems unaffected by bariatric surgery: a decrease was however seen regarding the functional limitation subcategory compared to preoperative patients with obesity.