Psychosocial and behavioural impact of three clinical presentations of oligodontia in a tertiary hospital.

Abstract

To investigate the psychosocial and behavioural impact of oligodontia across three presentation types and determine if presentation type can infer impact. Thirty patients, diagnosed and treated for oligodontia between 2006 and 2021, identified from hospital records. Patients received two questionnaires; the first was a modified version of a condition-specific questionnaire, the Cleft Research Questionnaire (CRQ),used to investigate demographic, life and treatment details and impacts, and the second, the Oral Health Impact Profile (OHIP-14) used to investigate the oral health related quality of life. Patients were assigned to three presentations (Types 1 to 3) of oligodontia identified according to the edentulous space present and complexity of prosthodontic treatment required. Hypothesis test to determine if there is a relationship between oligodontia type and study variables. Twenty-two questionnaires were completed and returned. There were 9 females. The age range was from 16 to 32 years. Eighteen patients had nonsyndromic and 4 oligodontia associated with anhidrotic ectodermal dysplasia. The main areas of impact were patient reported life less satisfying (64.5%, n=14)(pre-treatment), making friends (45%, N=10), school participation (45%, n=10), and public speaking (45%, n=10). No relationship was discovered between the degree of physical effect of the presentation type and study variables including the degree of psychosocial impact or life satisfaction. Oligodontia can have a negative functional and social impact on a patient prior to prosthodontic treatment. Prosthodontic treatment improved the life satisfaction for most patients. Psychosocial outcomes could not be inferred by the presentation type of oligodontia.