Impact of Maxillofacial Prostheses on Oral Health Related Quality Of Life (OHRQoL)

Abstract

Maxillofacial defects cause impact on oral health related quality of life (OHRQol) including limitations in functional activities, communication, social interaction, and intimacy. The obturator prosthesis is commonly used as an effective means for rehabilitating maxillectomy patients. The purpose of this study was to investigate impact of definitive obturator prosthesis on oral health related quality of life. In the period between 2015 -2017, a total of twenty five (25) patients with acquired maxillary defects based on Okay classification have been selected and rehabilitated with definitive obturator prostheses .The OHRQol was measured using the Oral Health Impact Profile (OHIP-Edent-19) and Obturator functioning scale (OFS) with standardized questionnaire after 2 weeks & 3months of prosthesis function.To find the significant difference between the bivariate samples in Paired groups the Wilcoxon signed rank test was used. With respect to oral health impact profile –Edent 19 scale, the mean functional limitation score were 6.72 and 5.20 indicates that there is significant improvement in chewing performance after 2 weeks and 3 months of prosthesis function. Significant improvement in oral health impact profile was noticed in physical (M = 5.84, 4.88), Psychological (M=4.84, 3.96) and social disabilities (M=5.28, 4.16). Similarly, when observed with Obturator functioning scale, significant improvement were noted in chewing performance phonetics, appearance and miscellaneous aspects. Analysing the OHIP –Edent-19 scale and obturator functioning scale (OFS-15), statistically significant differences (Wilcoxon rank test p value = 0.0005) were observed. Within the limits of this study, it can be concluded that highly positive correlation exists between definitive obturator prostheses and oral health related quality of life (OHRQol).