Effect of initial periodontal therapy on oral health-related quality of life in patients with periodontitis in Japan.
BACKGROUND
It is becoming increasingly important for periodontists and dental hygienists to take a biopsychosocial approach to care when considering periodontal interventions. However, information on how patients perceive periodontitis and its treatment is limited. The purpose of the present study is to gain insight into the patient perception of oral health and the impact that periodontitis and treatment have on self-assessed quality of life (QoL).


METHODS
This was a prospective, two-center, clinical study in Japan. Patients with periodontitis were assessed for their perceptions of oral health by using an instrument for oral health-related QoL (OHRQL) before and after initial periodontal therapy.


RESULTS
A total of 58 patients (mean age: 53.6 years; 23 male and 35 female) participated in the study and completed initial periodontal therapy. At baseline, 97% of the patients perceived that their oral health status impacted on their QoL in one or more ways. Pain, eating and chewing, and psychologic function were identified as compromised OHRQL domains. More than one-half of the patients rated their overall oral health as poor. Initial periodontal therapy, consisting mainly of oral hygiene instructions and scaling and root planing, significantly improved OHRQL scores (P = 0.0027). The effect size was calculated to be 0.51, indicating a moderate improvement. Compared with baseline, a significantly higher proportion of patients reported rarely or never having a problem regarding OHRQL domains such as pain (P = 0.0049) and eating and chewing (P = 0.0145) after treatment. No significant difference in the OHRQL improvement was found with respect to disease severity.


CONCLUSIONS
Periodontitis negatively affected QoL in this population of Japanese patients with periodontitis. Conventional non-surgical periodontal therapy has a potential to ameliorate patient perceptions of oral health.
Saito
Atsushi
A
Department of Clinical Oral Health Science, Tokyo Dental College, Tokyo, Japan. atsaito@tdc.ac.jp
Hosaka
Yasuo
Y
Kikuchi
Momomi
M
Akamatsu
Mayako
M
Fukaya
Chie
C
Matsumoto
Shinya
S
Ueshima
Fumie
F
Hayakawa
Hiroki
H
Fujinami
Koushu
K
Nakagawa
Taneaki
T
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001294:Attitude to Health; D003774:Dental Plaque Index; D012534:Dental Scaling; D004435:Eating / Q000502:physiology; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D005884:Gingival Hemorrhage / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy; D005889:Gingival Recession / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D007564:Japan; D008297:Male; D008409:Mastication / Q000502:physiology; D008875:Middle Aged; D009909:Oral Health; D009910:Oral Hygiene; D010146:Pain / Q000523:psychology; D010353:Patient Education as Topic; D017622:Periodontal Attachment Loss / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy; D010512:Periodontal Index; D010514:Periodontal Pocket / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy; D010518:Periodontitis / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy*; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011788:Quality of Life; D016745:Root Planing; D012649:Self Concept; D055815:Young Adult