Impact of New Complete Dentures on Oral Health-Related Quality of Life: A 12-Month Follow-up.

ABSTRACT

PURPOSE: To assess oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL) in edentulous subjects before and after 3, 6, 9, and 12 months of oral rehabilitation with conventional complete dentures (CDs) and to compare their OHRQoL to dentate subjects. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 148 subjects were selected and divided into three groups G1 = edentulous in maxillary arch (n = 68, mean age = 61.37 ± 8.91 years); G2 = completely edentulous (n = 50, mean age = 65.14 ± 8.91 years); and G3 = control group (dentate, n = 30, mean age = 60.03 ± 6.88 years). OHRQoL was assessed using the Brazilian version of the Oral Health Impact Profile-Edentulous (OHIP-EDENT) questionnaire at four different times baseline (pretreatment) and 3, 6, 9, and 12 months after oral rehabilitation with a new CD. The data showed nonparametric distribution and were submitted to Kruskal-Wallis test (± = .05). RESULTS: The impact of OHRQoL was higher for the edentulous groups compared to the control group at baseline (P < .05). Treatment significantly improved OHRQoL after 3 months of prosthesis use, and this effect was maintained during all 12 months of evaluation (P > .05). CONCLUSION: Oral rehabilitation with conventional CDs in one or both arches improved OHRQoL in edentulous patients after 3 months of prosthesis use, and its effect was maintained for up to 12 months.