Effects of endodontic disease and treatment on quality of life

Abstract

OBJECTIVES: The relationship between endodontic disease and quality of life (QoL) is scant despite the high prevalence of the disease. This study aimed to determine whether endodontic disease and its treatment influence oral health-related QoL (OHQoL). METHODS: An observational, case-control longitudinal study involving 530 participants (430 patients with endodontic disease and 100 patients without endodontic disease as a control group) at a university teaching hospital. All participants self-completed the short form Oral Health Impact Profile (OHIP-14) to assess their OHQoL and those with endodontic disease completed OHIP-14 again 1-month post endodontic treatment. Variations in OHIP-14 scores between those with and without endodontic disease, and change of OHIP-14 scores 1-month post-endodontic treatment were investigated and the magnitude of the statistical differences determined by Effect Size (ES) calculations. RESULTS: There was a significant difference in summary OHIP-14 scores between patients with and without endodontic disease (P<0.001), and across five of the seven OHIP-14 domains (P<0.01). The magnitude of the statistical difference was large (ES=0.91). There was no significant difference in OHIP-14 scores among those in need of primary versus secondary (re-treatment) endodontic care (P>0.05). Among those who underwent endodontic treatment, 76% (n=326) completed 1-month OHIP-14 assessments. There was a significant change in summary OHIP-14 scores post-endodontic treatment compared to pre-treatment (P<0.001), and across five of the seven OHIP-14 domains (P<0.01). The magnitude of the statistical change following endodontic treatment was moderate (ES =0.78). The change of OHIP-14 scores among those who received endodontic retreatment was larger than the change among patients who received primary endodontic care (P<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Patients with endodontic disease have poorer OHQoL compared to a control group of patients without endodontic diseases. Endodontic treatment improves OHQoL. These findings have implication in understanding the effect of endodontic disease and its treatment from patients' perspectives.