Tooth loss and oral health-related quality of life among adult dental patients: A cross-sectional study

Background

Oral diseases seriously impair the quality of life (QoL) in a large number of individuals and they may affect various aspects of life.

Aim

To determine the relationship between tooth loss and oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL) among adult dental patients.

Study Setting and Design

A cross-sectional study was carried out among 296 adult dental patients aged 35-44 years attending Department of Oral Medicine and Radiology of Panineeya Institute of Dental Sciences and Hospital, Hyderabad, India.

Materials and Methods

Oral Health Impact Profile-14 (OHIP-14) was used to assess OHRQoL. Dentition status and periodontal status according to WHO criteria 2013 and position, number of teeth lost by Batista et al. (2014) tooth loss classification were assessed.

Statistical Analysis

Mann-Whitney U test and analysis of variance were used to find prevalence and severity of OHIP-14 with tooth loss and logistic regression analysis to evaluate the association between OHIP-14 prevalence and severity based on variables.

Results

Except for the subjects with history of previous dental visit, variables such as gender and reason for dental visit showed significant difference (P ≤ 0.05) with tooth loss. Males subjects, who visited dentist with a history of pain, presence of periodontal disease and tooth loss up to 12 teeth (score 3) emerged as significant predictors for OHIP-14 prevalence (OR = 6.7, OR = 1.13, OR = 3.31).

Conclusion

The study strongly evidenced that number and position of tooth loss had negative impacts on OHRQoL.

Assessment of Oral Health-related Quality of Life among Expatriate Working Population, Saudi Arabia: A Cross-sectional Study

Background:

The expatriate workers (foreign workers) come from various countries having different languages, cultures, and tradition to work in Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA); here they adopt to local customs, traditions, and work ethics in this new environment. How they perceive their oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL) is important for health-care provider for understanding and planning in patient management. The data of expat workers and their OHRQoL in KSA are meager; hence, assessment of OHRQoL among expatriate working population in Al Zulfi, Saudi Arabia was planned.

Materials and Methods:

A cross-sectional study was conducted on adult expat working population of various nationalities who were working in Al Zulfi, KSA. The study sample comprised 600 adult expats. OHRQoL was analyzed by using 14-Item Oral Health Impact Profile (OHIP-14) questionnaire as instrument. Clinical examination for oral health status was carried out using decayed, missing, and filled teeth (DMFT) index and Oral Hygiene Index simplified (OHI-S). Student’s t test and analysis of variance (ANOVA) were used to compare data using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) software program, version 20.0 with significance at P ≤ 0.05.

Results:

The age of the sample population ranged from 19 to 60 years. No significant difference was observed in oral health status among expats of different nationalities. Age and education were significantly related to OHRQoL as well as oral health status. The mean cumulative scores of OHIP-14 showed that expats from different nationalities had statistically significant differences.

Conclusion:

Overall the impact of OHRQoL was less among working expat population in Al Zulfi. Physical pain was the common dimension seen among all nationalities. Psychological discomfort and handicap dimensions of OHIP-14 were significant among the study sample.

Impact of severity of tooth loss on oral-health-related quality of life among dental patients

Background

Tooth loss has a negative impact on the person's life so this study was done to assess the impact of tooth loss on oral-health-related quality of life (OHRQoL) in adult patients seeking dental care in private university dental clinics using Arabic version of 14-item Oral Health Impact Profile (OHIP-14) questionnaire in Saudi Arabia.

Materials and Methods

A cross-sectional study was conducted among 152 patients seeking dental care at a private university dental clinics in Riyadh city, Saudi Arabia. A structured and close-ended OHIP-14 questionnaire was self-administered by the study participants. Descriptive statistics, Kruskal-Wallis, Mann-Whitney, and Spearman's correlation tests were applied to the data.

Results

Patients with categories 1-5, 6-10, and >10 teeth loss showed a mean OHIP-14 scores of 10.51 ± 10.36, 13.46 ± 10.06, and 21.46 ± 14.41, respectively. A statistically significant difference in OHIP-14 score was observed among different categories of tooth loss (P = 0.005). Participants with >10 teeth loss showed significantly higher OHIP-14 score compared with 1-5 and 6-10 teeth loss categories (P < 0.05). Teeth loss significantly affected the functional limitation (P = 0.000) and social disability (P = 0.044) subscales.

Conclusion

Tooth loss adversely affected the OHRQoL among the dental patients. As the severity of teeth lost increased, the OHIP-14 score also increased with higher oral health impairments.

Evaluation of Toothbrush Contamination

Background/Aim: Toothbrushes are one of the main means of cleaning teeth and maintaining oral hygiene, but toothbrushes are also potential reservoir of microorganisms, including pathogens. The aim of this paper was to evaluate the oral health, oral hygiene awareness and assess the degree of contamination of toothbrushes among students attending Secondary Medical School.

Material and Methods: Sixty students (32 boys, 28 girls; mean age ≅ 15,7±2,1) attending highschool were randomly selected for this study. Each student included in the study filled out a questionnaire regarding his/her life habits and oral hygiene. Clinical examinations were initiated in order to determine the DMFT, as well as the CIP, CIT, CIA and CPITN indexes, based of which the assessment of oral health status was performed. One stack of fiber was collected from each toothbrush used by the participantes in the study, and than prepared for further microbiological sampling.

Results: Only 11% of the students had the awareness of potential sources of toothbrushes contamination. The average value of DMFT was 3,2 (%D = 22,5; %M = 4,96; %F = 72,5). A statistically significant difference in comparison of the CPITN index and subjects’ response to the professional plague removal in the last 12 months was identified (χ2 = 13,55; p= 0,033). Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus mutans, Micrococcus species and Streptococcus salivarius were most commonly present microorganisms. In most cases, G-positive bacilli or cocci were isolated, while the presence of Candidae albicans was identified in four samples.

Conclusions: Raising the awareness of dental hygiene through the oral health education may improve better plaque control and subsequently the oral health. Handson training how to maintain the oral hygiene are not expensive and more over they are easy to be organized can be useful in oral heath promotion.