Abstract
Aims:To determine oral health related quality of life (OHRQoL) in a large sample of substance abusers and to evaluate the effect of dental treatment on OHRQoL.Design:A longitudinal observational study.Settings: A dental care clinic specialized in treating severely addicted patients.Participants: A sample of severely addicted substance abusers.Measurements: OHRQoL was measured using the OHIP-14, which was filled out at baseline (T0), prior to the first treatment session (T1), after about 6 treatment sessions (T2) and on the last day of treatment (T3). Findings: Mean OHIP scores did not change from T0 to T1. At T1, a mean OHIP-14 total score = 37.1 (sd=12.4, N = 392) was found. The highest mean scores were observed for the subscales physical pain and psychological discomfort. Data from 129 patients was available on both T1 and T2. The mean OHIP-14 total score reduced significantly (mean difference = 5.63, 95% CI 3.76 – 7.51), t(128)=5.94, p <0.001. The highest reduction in mean score was found for the subscale physical pain (mean difference = 1.24, 95%CI 0.81 – 1.66). Also between T2 and T3 a significant reduction in OHIP-14 total score (mean difference = 2.41, 95%CI 0.06-4.76) took place.Conclusion: The oral health status of substance abusers does have a substantial effect on their quality of life, which can be improved to a great extent by dental treatment based on a model tailored to addicted patients.
Highlights
In medicine, mortality and morbidity no longer are the only important outcomes of prevention, cure and care
The oral health status of substance abusers does have a substantial effect on their quality of life, which can be improved to a great extent by dental treatment based on a model tailored to addicted patients
At the start of this study (T0), 400 questionnaires were mailed to potential participants that were on the waiting list of a special dental care clinic for alcohol/drug abusers (CBT Jellinek Amsterdam) for dental treatment
Summary
Mortality and morbidity no longer are the only important outcomes of prevention, cure and care. Attention to patient-reported outcomes measures (PROM’s) such as health-related quality of life, has been growing rapidly [1]. This is an acknowledgement of the fact that broader measures are needed, in order to incorporate the patients perspective on his health, impairments and disabilities. Many instruments are available to measure oral health-related quality of life [2, 3]. One of the most commonly used instruments to measure oral health-related quality of life is the Oral Health Impact Profile (OHIP-49) or its short form alternative (OHIP-14). An hierarchical ordering exists among these seven dimensions which implies that the impact described by each subsequent dimension is considered to be gradually more disruptive to one’s life [6]
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