Relationship between oral health-related quality of life, satisfaction, and personality in patients with prosthetic rehabilitations.

PURPOSE

This study investigated the relationship between oral health-related quality of life, satisfaction with dentition, and personality profiles among patients with fixed and/or removable prosthetic rehabilitations.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Thirty-seven patients (13 males, 24 females; mean age 37.6 +/- 13.3 years) with fitted prosthetic rehabilitations and 37 controls who matched the patients by age and gender were recruited into the study. The Dental Impact on Daily Living (DIDL) questionnaire was used to assess dental impacts on daily living and satisfaction with the dentition. The Oral Health Impact Profile (OHIP) was used to measure self-reported discomfort, disability, and dysfunction caused by oral conditions. Oral health-related quality of life was assessed by the United Kingdom Oral Health-Related Quality of Life (OHQoL-UK) measure. Moreover, the NEO five-factor inventory was used to assess participants' personality profiles.

RESULTS

Prosthetic factors had no relationship to the DIDL, OHIP, and OHQoL-UK scores. Patients with the least oral health impacts had better oral health-related quality of life (p= 0.023, r =-0.37), higher levels of total satisfaction, and satisfaction with appearance, pain, oral comfort, general performance, and eating (p < 0.05, r =-0.79, -0.35, -0.59, -0.56, -0.58, and -0.50, respectively). Patients with better oral health-related quality of life (QoL) had higher total satisfaction, satisfaction with oral comfort, general performance, and eating (p < 0.05, r = 0.34, 0.39, 0.33, and 0.37, respectively). Patients with lower neuroticism scores had less oral health impact (p= 0.006, r = 0.44), better oral health-related QoL (p= 0.032, r =-0.35), higher total satisfaction, satisfaction with appearance, pain, oral comfort, and eating (p < 0.05, r =-0.58, -0.35, -0.33, -0.39, and -0.35, respectively).

CONCLUSION

Patients' satisfaction with their dentition and prosthetic rehabilitations has positive effects on oral health-related QoL and oral health impacts and improves patients' daily living and dental perceptions. Neuroticism might influence and predict patients' satisfaction with their dentition, oral health impacts, and oral health-related QoL. Satisfaction with the dentition might predict a patient's level of neuroticism.