title: Oral health-related quality of life in partially edentulous patients before and after implant therapy: a 2-year longitudinal study.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The aim of this study was to measure the Oral Health-Related Quality of Life (OHRQoL) before and after a prosthodontic implant therapy so to determine the physical and psychological impact of implant-supported fixed partial dentures (IFPD) rehabilitation among edentulous patients.
  
  
  METHODS
  50 partially edentulous patients aged 40-70 years, treated with IFPD, completed the OHRQoL questionnaire before the implant surgery (Time 0) and 2 years after their whole implant-prosthetic rehabilitation (Time 1). The questionnaire was proposed in a short version of Oral Health Impact Profile (OHIP-14, range 0-56) and analyzed through the 'additive method'. We evaluated statistical mean, standard deviation, median, variance and mode of all OHIP-14 domains and the statistical significance about oral changes at Time 0 and Time 1 using the Chi-square test (p-values < 0.05).
  
  
  RESULTS
  Patients reported significant changes in mean OHIP scores (Time 0: 2.15; Time 1: 0.65; p < 0.01). The most prevalently affected domain was "functional limitation", followed by "psychological discomfort" and "physical pain". There were no significant differences dependent on age, gender and antagonistic teeth (p > 0.05). Patients with I and IV Kennedy's class edentulism showed better improvement (p < 0.05).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Preoperative and post-treatment assessments of OHRQoL exhibited significant differences. The IFPD treatment had a positive effect on the OHRQoL, which improved better in patients with I and IV Kennedy's edentulous class.
authors.affiliation: Department of Experimental Medical-Surgical and Oral Dental Sciences, University of Messina.
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Bramanti
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Matacena
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Cecchetti
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Arcuri
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Cicciù
keywords: OHIP-14; dental implants; missing teeth; oral health-related quality-of-life; prosthodonti