Authors

Dannan A*1 and Joumaa A2

Abstract

Objectives: To assess the oral health-related quality of life in a Syrian sample of patients, and to assess the perceived oral health.
Study design: The sample of the study consisted of 36 patients who visited the dental clinic of the Syrian Private University (SPU) seekingdental and/or periodontal treatments. The selected patients completed a modified questionnaire including a single question about the perceived gingival health, and five additional questions representing the impact of periodontal disease on their quality of life. The association between the perceived gingival health and the actual clinical findings of the periodontium was assessed.

Results: About 42% of the patients diagnosed for chronic gingivitis described their gingival health as “excellent”, whereas only 5.2% described it as “bad”. Forty percent of the patients diagnosed for mild chronic periodontitis described their gingival health as “good”, and 40% of them described it as “bad”. Twenty-five percent of the patients diagnosed for moderate chronic periodontitis described their gingival health as “very good”, whereas 50% of them described it as “bad”. All the patients (100%) diagnosed for advanced chronic periodontitis described their gingival health as “bad”. Pain was mostly mentioned by patients diagnosed for chronic gingivitis, initial chronic periodontitis, and moderate chronic periodontitis. Eating was most affected by the patients diagnosed for advanced chronic periodontitis. Conclusion: An accepted degree of awareness towards oral health problems related to periodontal disease was noticed in this study,especially by patients diagnosed for advanced chronic periodontitis. Further studies are needed regarding the relationship between oral
health-related quality of life and chronic periodontitis.

Published in

Journal of Dentistry and Oral Care 2015

Keywords

Periodontal disease; Oral health; Quality of life