Oral health-related quality of life in partially edentulous patients: assessments before and after implant therapy.

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVES: Little is known about oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL) for partially edentulous patients seeking implant therapy. We investigated preoperative and postoperative OHRQoL to determine the impact of prosthodontic treatments. METHODS: From January 2006 to July 2007, 343 patients (219 in the partially edentulous, "study group"; 124 in the fully dentate, "control group") were assessed for OHRQoL with a German version of the Oral Health Impact Profile (OHIP-G 21, range 0-84). Assessments were made at the preoperative evaluation and after prosthodontic treatments. RESULTS: Median OHIP scores were 17.1 and 3.4 for the study and control groups, respectively (p<0.01). After prosthodontic treatment, the median OHIP score of the study group decreased from 17.1 to 5.4 (p<0.01). The types of problems reported pre- and post-treatment were substantially different. CONCLUSIONS: Preoperative assessment of OHRQoL identified clear differences for partially edentulous compared to fully dentate patients. The implant therapy had a positive effect on the OHRQoL.