Oral health-related quality of life of removable partial denture wearers and related factors.

This study aims to investigate the oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL) in a group of removable partial denture (RPD) wearers in Shiraz (Iran), using the Persian version of the Oral Health Impact Profile (OHIP-14). Two hundred removable partial denture wearers had completed a questionnaire regarding patients' demographic characteristics and denture-related factors. In addition, the OHIP-14 questionnaire was filled out by interviewing the patients. Two measures of interpreting the OHIP-14 scales were utilised: OHIP-14 sum and OHIP-14 prevalence. The relationship of the patients' demographic characteristics and denture-related factors, with their OHRQoL was investigated. The mean OHIP-14 sum and OHIP-14 prevalence of RPD wearers were 13·80 (±10·08) and 44·5%, respectively. The most problematic aspects of OHIP-14 were physical disability and physical pain. Twenty-seven percentage and 24% of participants had reported meal interruption and eating discomfort, respectively. OHIP-14 prevalence and OHIP-14 sum were found to be significantly associated with factors representing RPD wearer's oral health such as self-reported oral health and frequency of denture cleaning. Furthermore, OHIP-14 prevalence and OHIP-14 sum were significantly associated with factors related to frequency of denture use such as hours of wearing the denture during the day and wearing the denture while eating and sleeping. Therefore, it can be concluded that the OHRQoL of the patients of the study was generally not optimal and found to be strongly associated with oral health.