Prevalence, Intensity and Extent of Oral Impact on Daily Performances and their relationship to Oral health problems among rural females

Background: Oral diseases are not usually fatal, but can affect the ability to eat, speak and socialize without embarrassment and contribute to ones’ general wellbeing. When oral health related quality of life (OHRQoL) measures are used alongside traditional clinical methods of measuring oral health status, a more comprehensive assessment of the impact of oral diseases on the several dimensions of subjective wellbeing becomes possible. Assessment of oral health outcomes is vital to planning oral healthcare programmes. Moreover, little is known about this impact of oral diseases on rural females and research on the social outcome related to dental diseases is limited in developing countries. Objective: To evaluate the current status of oral health related quality of life by measuring the prevalence, intensity and extent of Oral Impact on Daily Performances (OIDP) and their relationship to oral health problems among rural females of Belgaum District, South India. Method: A cross-sectional study was carried out among 267 females at three randomly selected rural areas in Belgaum District, Karnataka, India. The data was collected by means of a structured interview containing questions related to socio-demographic details. OHRQoL was assessed using the OIDP questionnaire. The World Health Organization (WHO) criteria were used to obtain data on clinical oral conditions and self reported oral symptoms. Result: 50.2% (95% CI: 44.2 to 56.17) participants reported oral impact on daily performances in the last 6 months. 32.6% and 22.8% subjects reported impact on eating and speaking performances respectively. 11.6% and 20.6% reported impacts of very severe and severe intensity respectively. The mean number of performances impacted was 1.19 (95% CI: 1.01 to 1.37) and the median was 1 performance with impact. The correlations with Missing teeth and Toothache were found to be stronger. Conclusion: The prevalence of oral impacts on daily performances in this rural female population was high. Oral impacts affected their quality of life mainly through difficulty in eating and speaking. There is a need for further longitudinal studies to better understand and interpret OHRQoL measures in such populations. Moreover, appropriate policy changes and proper programme implementation is required for the upliftment of such deprived population.