Comparison of removable dentures: Patient satisfaction and oral health-related quality of life

Background: Health-related quality of life is significantly influenced by oral health of individuals. This study aimed to compare patient satisfaction and oral health–related quality of life (OHRQoL) among patients using complete dentures (CDs) and partial dentures (PDs). Materials and Methods: The study was carried out patients with complete or partial edentulous who refered to the Necmettin Erbakan University, Faculty of Dentistry between March 2015 and February 2017. The quality of life of the patients was assessed using a questionnaire including the Oral Health Impact Profile (OHIP-14). The patients were divided into the following groups according to their prosthesis type and location: 1) Group I: CDmax-mand, 2) Group II: CDmax-PDmand, 3) Group III: PDmax-CDmand and 4) Group IV: PDmax-mand. Sociodemographic datas, prosthesis age, and effects of prosthetic location on the OHRQoL were also examined. Results: Statistical analyses showed that age, gender, educational status and duration of prosthesis usage did not have an impact on the OHIP-14 scores of patients (p>0,05). Physical pain scores of patients in Group I and Group III were significantly higher than those of patients in Group IV (p<0.05). In addition, patients in Group III were found to have higher scores for social handicap compared with patients in Group II and, patients in Group I and Group III have also higher scores than those of patients in Group IV (p<0.05). Conclusion: Prosthetic rehabilitation with CD and PD has an important impact on improving the OHRQoL of patients. The OHRQoL can be further improved with regular dental control and/or the need to replacement of prosthesis at regular intervals