Impacto da instalação de próteses dentárias na qualidade de vida relacionada à saúde bucal em idosos de um município do Sul do Brasil

Abstract

Despite the overall decline in edentulism, the number of edentulous individuals reaching advanced ages remains high. Dental prostheses are a resource that makes it possible to improve the functional and psychological aspects of the elderly due to dental losses, directly interfering in their quality of life. In view of this reality, the objective of the present study was to evaluate the oral healthrelated quality of life of the elderly treated in health units of the family of Pelotas - RS measured by OHIP-14 before and after the installation of new dental prostheses. A quasi-experimental study with longitudinal data was carried out in 2017 with fifty elderly people treated in Family Health Units of the urban area of Pelotas, who participated in oral health care in 2015. A standardized questionnaire with closed questions was used to obtain socio-demographic variables and oral health-related quality of life (OHIP-14). An oral health examination was performed by properly trained and calibrated examiners to obtain information on dental caries and use and need of dental prostheses according to the criteria proposed by the World Health Organization. Before the installation of new dental prostheses in 2015 and 2016, the elderly answered the standardized questionnaire and OHIP-14, and after a period of approximately 12 to 24 months, the same questionnaires were again applied to the elderly, as well as the oral health examination. The study's outcome was oral health-related quality of life obtained through the Oral Health Impact Profile - OHIP-14. The main exposition of the study was the installation of new dental prostheses after the oral health follow-up of 2015. Three categories were organized: Group 1: elderly people who were identified with a need for a dental prosthesis in 2015/16 and received prosthetic rehabilitation; Group 2: elderly identified with prosthetic need in 2015/16 and without prosthetic rehabilitation and Group 3: elderly without prosthetic rehabilitation 2015/16 and performed prosthetic rehabilitation. Stata 12.0 was used to carry out the statistical analyzes. Initially, descriptive analyzes were performed using absolute and relative frequencies, means and standard deviation. After performing bivariate analyzes using the Mann-Whitney and Kruskal Wallis test with a significance level of 5% the total OHIP-14 scores and their domains were obtained in the follow-up of 2015 and the present study. An increase in OHIP-14 total score and the Functional Limitation, Physical Pain, Psychological Discomfort, Physical Disability, Psychological Disability, Social Handicap after prosthetic rehabilitation were observed, although this difference was not statistically significant. There was a statistical difference between the 3 groups in the 2017 follow-up for the Functional Limitation dimension in the item "You had trouble pronouncing some words because of your teeth, mouth or dentures" (p = 0.037) and “You had pain in your mouth" in the follow up of 2015 (p = 0.004) and 2017 (p = 0.003). Finally, when comparing the elderly before (mean = 10.45, standard deviation = 2.05) and after (mean = 11.05, standard deviation = 3.07) of the prosthesis installation, no statistical difference was observed. The findings of the present study indicate that there was no improvement in oral health-related quality of life of the elderly after the period of 12 to 24 months of prosthetic rehabilitation.