ORAL HEALTH RELATED QUALITY OF LIFE AND PERIODONTAL STATUS OF A SELECTED MALAYSIAN ADULT POPULATION: A PILOT STUDY

Aim: To assess the oral health related quality of life (OHQoL) of a selected population of Malaysian adults and to compare the OHQoL by periodontal status. Material Methods: This cross-sectional study comprises a convenient sampling of fifty subjects from the Primary Care Unit, Faculty of Dentistry, University of Malaya. OHQoL was assessed using the Malaysian version of Oral Health Impact Profile-14 (OHIP-14). Basic periodontal examination (BPE) was performed on all subjects to determine their periodontal status. Descriptive statistics and bivariate analysis were performed. Results: Psychological discomfort, physical pain and psychological disability domains were the most affected dimensions in this population. Subjects with income levels RM2,500 had higher impacts on their OHQoL as compared to those from other income levels (p 0.05). 78% of the subjects had some form of periodontitis (BPE scores 3 or 4) with the other 22% recording healthy/ gingivitis status (BPE 0, 1 or 2). Subjects with periodontitis experienced higher impacts on OHQoL as compared to those with healthy/ gingivitis in nearly all domains (p 0.05). Conclusion: Subjects with high income levels had high impacts on their OHQoL. Those with periodontitis experienced higher impacts on their OHQoL as compared to those who had a healthy periodontium or gingivitis and affected a wide range of domains of quality of life.