Abstract
Objective
Oral submucous fibrosis (OSF) could have a significant impact on daily life activities of affected individuals. The objective of this study was to investigate the impacts of OSF on oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL).
Materials and MethodsResultsA total of 206 clinically diagnosed OSF patients were recruited and subjected to the condition-specific OHRQoL-OSF instrument and global self-ratings of oral health and overall well-being.
Discomfort and functional impairment dimension was highly prevalent among patients with all stages (p<0.001). OSF also has impacts on other domains, namely psychological wellness (82.35%) and social wellness (61.16%). Stage IV OSF (25.944.05) patients reported higher OHRQoL-OSF scores as compared to stage III (16.20 +/- 2.58) and stage II OSF (7.26 +/- 1.70) patients. However, stage I OSF patients reported significantly better OHRQoL (p<0.001). A significant trend demonstrating overall OHRQoL-OSF scores increasing with advancing stages of OSF was observed. The majority of the participants rated their overall oral health status fair (34.95%) to very poor (26.21%), whereas overall well-being was rated as moderate (33.00%) to good (31.55%).
ConclusionOSF has a significant impact on OHRQoL. Increasing severity of OSF is associated with the worsening QoL.