Quality of life and endodontics

Abstract

Pain and discomfort arising from endodontic diseases have long been considered in diagnosis and treatment planning. However, arguably, it is the impact and consequence of these symptoms on the quality of life (QoL) or daily living that is important in providing understanding of the burden of the diseases and ultimately in determining the beneft of care to the lives of patients. To this end there has been a growing interest into assessing the impact of endodontic disease on health- and oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL) and on studies to identify key factors associated with its impact. Systematic reviews have addressed this important topic in complete maxillary dentures treatments, implant supported mandibular overdentures, and dental implant rehabilitation. This lecture will review the literature on the impact of Endodontics treatment on quality of life, systematically dissect the methods used and ofer suggestions on methodological issues in performing studies on QoL outcome measures.