Oral Health Related Quality of Life in Relation to Acute and Chronic Oral Disease Conditions in Benin, Nigeria

Abstract

The present study considered oral health related quality of life (OHRQoL) of patients experiencing oral disease conditions as physical and emotional functioning that could be associated with type of oral disease conditions. It was reasoned that the type of oral disease conditions that patients experiences could significantly determine the quality of life associated with the oral disease. Types of oral disease conditions considered were acute oral disease and chronic oral disease. A total of 122 patients were conveniently selected from a pool of patients attending the Dental Centre, University of Benin Teaching Hospital, (UBTH), Benin City, Nigeria and were compared on the expression of their quality of life. A t-test for independent sample conducted showed that, while there was no significant differences between the two types of disease conditions on psychological discomfort and psychological disability, patients experiencing acute oral disease conditions were significantly more functionally limited, manifested increased physical pain and disability, more socially disabled, more handicapped and reported significantly reduced overall quality of life than patients experiencing chronic oral disease conditions. This study concludes that acute dental diseases have more negative impact on the oral-health-related quality of life of patients experiencing dental disorders than chronic dental disease. The necessity to facilitate people‟s access to dental care services, especially when dealing with acute dental injuries, in order to avoid a later negative impact on their quality of life is recommended.

Keywords: Oral health-related quality of life, acute oral disease, chronic oral disease

Ife PsychologIA, 20(2), September 2012