Problems reported by patients before and after prosthodontic treatment.

PURPOSE

This study sought to investigate problems reported by patients before and after prosthodontic treatment.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Patient-reported problems were studied using the item list contained in the German version of the Oral Health Impact Profile in a convenience sample of 107 prosthodontic patients before (T0), 1 month after (T1), and 6 to 12 months after treatment (T2). "Frequently reported" problems were defined as impacts experienced fairly often or very often. The prevalence of frequently reported problems was compared among treatment groups and across appointments.

RESULTS

At baseline, the most prevalent frequently reported problems were "difficulty chewing" (31%), "take longer to complete a meal" (28%), "food catching" (26%), "uncomfortable to eat" (24%), and "unable to eat (because of dentures)" (23%). At T2, the most prevalent frequently reported problems were "sore spots" (5%), "painful gums" (4%), "discomfort (because of dentures)" (3%), and "sore jaw" (2%). The number of reported problems decreased from 18.0 (T0) to 7.5 (T1), and further to 4.5 (T2). The decrease was the fastest in fixed partial denture wearers and the slowest in removable partial denture wearers. Some problems emerged during or after prosthodontic treatment. The kind of pre- and posttreatment problems differed substantially.

CONCLUSION

The number of problems decreased substantially after prosthodontic treatment. Fixed partial dentures more effectively influenced the problems reported before treatment than did removable partial or complete dentures.