Abstract

Background: Missing teeth are a cause of major health problems in third world countries. The association between missing teeth and Oral Health Related Quality of Life (OHRQoL) is essential to understand its daily impacts and oral health issues. The objective of this study is to evaluate the impact of tooth loss on OHRQoL in adults.
Methods: The survey was conducted during March – June 2019 at Rashid Latif Dental Hospital. A sample size of 373 adults aged 18-80 years was randomly selected from the out-patient department. Number of missing teeth was the main exposure, and it was clinically assessed. OHRQoL was evaluated through “Oral Impacts on Daily performance (OIDP) questionnaire”.
Results: From total patients presented in OPD 44% had one or more missing teeth. Top reported impacts of missing teeth included difficulty eating and relaxing/sleeping problems. Adults with missing teeth showed 1.28 (95%CI 1.04-4.55) (P=0.01) times higher odds for reporting higher oral impacts compared to those without missing teeth.
Conclusion: Individuals with missing teeth likely had frequent difficulties in their daily lives due to missing teeth including trouble with eating, speaking, and oral infection, which could spread to the rest of your body.

Key words: Key Words: OIDP, Tooth-loss, Adults, Missing teeth, Lahore, Impacts