Effect of complete dentures on life quality, happiness and nutrition

Abstract

OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study was to assess the effect of provision of new complete dentures on oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL) and happiness. Nutrition in terms of Body Mass Index (BMI) and dietary fibre intake were also measured. METHODS: Forty-eight edentulous patients who requested new complete dentures were recruited. Oral Health Impact Profile for edentulous patients (OHIP-EDENT) and Depression-Happiness Scale (DHS) were administered by interview method prior to treatment, and one and three months post-treatment. BMI was determined and the daily consumption of fruit and vegetable was recorded. Demographic data was also collected. Repeated measures analysis of variance was used to analyze OHIP-EDENT, DHS and nutrition data. RESULTS: Forty patients with a mean age of 70.7 completed the study. There was significant reduction in OHIP-EDENT score (p<0.05) and increase in DHS score (p<0.05) after complete denture treatment. There was slight increase in consumption of fruit (p<0.05) but not vegetable (p>0.05), and no difference in BMI (p>0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Edentulous patients who received conventional complete dentures treatment showed significant improvement in OHRQoL and happiness. Nutrition was improved in terms of consumption of fruit but not vegetable, or BMI.