Oral Health-related Quality of life and related factors in the elderly patients who received dental treatment

Abstract

This thesis is a cross-sectional study which explores underlying determinants of elderly patients. The study examines related factor that impaired Oral Health-related Quality of life (OHRQoL) and analyzes the characteristics of elderly patients at our clinic. 46 participants are patients who completed dental treatment more than 6 months during May 2016 to December 2018. Underlying determinants information were recorded by interview, patient chart review and oral examination. There were collected self-evaluation and Oral Impacts on Daily Performances (OIDP). Descriptive statistics was used to describe the characteristics of patients. Spearman correlation and Kruskal-Wallis test at P-value < 0.05 were performed. From the results, the participant’s OIDP scores showed the majority in no severity and no more than 2 impacts activities. The major activities that were impacted were eating activity and speaking activity due to ill-fitting dentures but less impacts in psychological and social performance. There was poor denture satisfaction that impaired participant’s OHRQoL. However, there were differences between dentist and patient evaluation. The authors suggest that the dental treatment should focus on the recall system, the frequency of dental recall visits, procedures to successful oral hygiene instruction and skills to handle the denture problems.