Evaluation of Patient Satisfaction with Existing Complete Dentures for Those Patients Attending College of Dentistry/ University of Sulaimani

Abstract

Objective: This study was conducted to investigate the impact on Oral Health-Related Quality of Life (OHRQoL) among complete denture wearers and to inspect any impact differences between males and females denture wearers.           Methods: The study sample involved 100 complete denture wearers’ (55 males and 45 females) aged between 40-74 years, who attended the Department of Prosthodontics, College of Dentistry, University of Sulaimani. All of the participants Interviewed directly by the researcher to answer the Oral Health Impact Profile questionnaire (OHIP-EDENT-19) to assess the prevalence of impacts using three answering scales:1= never, 2= sometimes, 3=almost always. Socio-demographic information was gathered. Data were submitted to statistical analysis (chi-square test, P≤0.05).       Results: The majority of participants chose score-2 (sometimes) in answering questions regarding functional limitation, physical pain, physical and psychological disability (58% - 72%). While score-1 (never) was the answer to social disability questions (69%) and score-3 (almost always) was the response of participants to consider wearing a complete denture is a handicap (46%). There were insignificant differences between both sexes in the majority of responses. However, Females were significantly more anxious than males (P>0.05) in answering specific questions regarding self-consciousness, embarrassment, and avoid going out.   Conclusions: Conventional complete dentures bring negative impacts in the OHRQoL of elderly patients, mainly concerning physical pain and functional limitation, followed by handicap, physical disability, psychological discomfort. The least negative impact was on social and psychological disabilities. The most encountered problems by females than males were Psychological discomfort, psychological disability, and social disability.