Oral health-related quality of life in patients with implant treatment

Patient-reported outcomes are increasingly commonly used as a method of evaluating treatments. This cross-sectional study aimed to evaluate implant treatment from the perspective of patient-reported outcomes.Subjects were 804 patients who visited the Department of Oral Implantology at Osaka Dental University. The participants were categorized into a pre-implant group and a post-implant group. They were further categorized into five subgroups based on the number of occlusal supports provided by the remaining teeth according to the Eichner classification. The participants answered a basic questionnaire and the General Oral Health Assessment Index (GOHAI) questionnaire, an oral health-related quality of life (QOL) scale. GOHAI scores were compared according to the number of occlusal supports within each group and between the two groups.The results revealed a significant difference in terms of the number of occlusal supports within the pre-implant group; GOHAI scores decreased as the number of occlusal supports decreased (P .05). GOHAI scores significantly improved in both pre- and post-implant groups in all occlusal support subgroups (P<.001).GOHAI scores decrease as occlusal support is lost. However, implant treatment performed in areas of loss improves the GOHAI score when occlusal support is restored.