Welfare dental intervention improves employment and quality of life.
Chronic, untreated oral disease adversely affects one's systemic health, quality of life, and economic productivity. This study evaluated the effect of rehabilitative dental treatment on the oral-health-related quality of life and employment of welfare recipients. Three hundred and seventy-seven participants in a novel welfare dental program received oral examinations, questionnaires, and rehabilitative dental treatment. Seventy-nine percent of participants exhibited improvement in their oral-health-related quality-of-life scores following dental treatment. Improved OHIP-14 change scores were associated with being Caucasian or African-American, initial poor general health, severity of treatment urgency, worse baseline oral-health-related quality-of-life scores, subsequent patient satisfaction with the Dental Program, and resolution of their chief complaint (all p < 0.04). Those who completed their dental treatment were twice as likely to achieve a favorable/neutral employment outcome (OR = 2.01, 95%CI = 1.12, 3.62). Thus, oral health improved the quality of life and employment outcome for this welfare population.
Hyde
S
S
Division of Oral Epidemiology and Dental Public Health, University of California, San Francisco, School of Dentistry, 3333 California Street, Suite 495, San Francisco, CA 94143-1361, USA.
Satariano
W A
WA
Weintraub
J A
JA
D000328:Adult; D001741:Black or African American; D001294:Attitude to Health; D015331:Cohort Studies; D003729:Dental Care; D004651:Employment; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006304:Health Status; D006630:Hispanic or Latino; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D020380:Needs Assessment; D009909:Oral Health; D017060:Patient Satisfaction; D011788:Quality of Life; D012495:San Francisco; D012946:Social Welfare; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D044465:White People