Abstract
BackgroundA burn to the face and neck area leaves a visible scar that impacts the victims physically and psychologically. This report was aimed to examine the factors associated with oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL) in patients with a facial burn injury.MethodsPatients with facial burn who attended the Burn Care Centre in Islamabad, Pakistan were systematically and randomly invited to participate in this cross-sectional study. They underwent extra- and intra-oral examinations and, completed self-administered instruments in the Urdu language. The severity of disfigurement, dental caries experience (DMFT), periodontal disease (CPI) and oral hygiene (OHI-S) statuses were assessed. The validated instruments collected information relating to sociodemographic background, oral health behaviours, OHRQoL and satisfaction with appearance (SWAP). Information relating to the time of the incident, cause and severity (type, TBSA) of the burn were obtained from medical records. The OHRQoL prevalence of impact and severity measures were derived and analysed using simple and multiple, logistic and linear regression.ResultsA total of 271 patients had participated in the study. The OHIP-14 prevalence of impact was 94% with mean severity score = 37 unit (sd = 8.5). The most impacted domains were physical pain (87%), psychological disability (87%), social disability (85%) and physical discomfort (83%). The main determinants of oral health-related quality of life were poor clinical oral conditions - particularly caries, and severity deformity. Other risk factors included poor oral health behaviours, psychological distress and longer time elapsed since the incident, and sex (p < 0.05).ConclusionDental caries, the severity of the facial deformity, oral health behaviour and time are associated with oral health-related quality of life of patients with facial burns. Oral health behaviour improvement can lower the risk of developing dental problems and oral health-related quality of life impact.
Highlights
A burn to the face and neck area leaves a visible scar that impacts the victims physically and psychologically
The objective of this study was to examine the factors associated with oral healthrelated quality of life in patients with facial burns using two outcome measures derived from the Oral Health Impact Profile (OHIP-14) instrument
Patients aged 15 years or older who were visiting the centre for follow-up treatment were systematically and randomly selected into the study if they presented with a burn injury that affected more than 10% of the total body surface area (TBSA), including the head and neck area and able to feed by mouth
Summary
A burn to the face and neck area leaves a visible scar that impacts the victims physically and psychologically. Stretching of scar tissues during mouth opening and jaw movement can cause discomfort and pain [12, 16,17,18] These complications limit access to the oral cavity and disrupt oral hygiene care; the resulting inefficiency increases the risk of developing dental caries and periodontal diseases that later affect the oral health-related quality of life [1, 2, 19,20,21,22,23,24,25,26,27,28,29]. A study has shown that facial burn victims have poor oral conditions [30]
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