Comparison of Oral Health-related Quality of Life with the Actual Oral Health Status of the Elderly Population of Kolkata: A Cross-sectional Study.

Introduction: It is a well-established fact that oral health-related quality of life is a multidimensional concept that is obviously influenced by patient psychology. Thus, it is important to know how much actual oral health status and treatment need to influence oral health-related quality of life. Aim: To assess the Oral Health-related Quality of Life (OHRQoL) and actual oral health status of the elderly population and to find an association between actual oral health status and patient-reported oral health-related quality of life. Materials and Methods: An observational cross-sectional study on the elderly population of West Bengal belonging to the middle socio-economic group in the Department of Prosthodontics and Crown and Bridge, Guru Nanak Institute of Dental Sciences and Research, Kolkata, West Bengal, India. The study was conducted in between November 2023 to April 2024. Random sampling was done to select the study population and the required sample size was calculated at 120. Demographic and socio-economic data were obtained from the study population after obtaining ethical clearance from the Institutional Review Board (IRB) and consent from the study population. The clinical intra-oral examination was done to evaluate the actual oral health status. Oral health-related quality of life was assessed by the Geriatric Oral Health Assessment Index (GOHAI) and compared with oral health status and unmet treatment needs. Results: The overall mean GOHAI score was 44.99 +/- 8.31. The average decayed missing filled teeth (DMF) score of the partially edentulous patients was 9.91±5.59 [Male 9.26±5.46; Female 10.61±5.70]. Based on the Simplified Oral Hygiene Index (OHI-S) score, the partiallyedentulous/dentulous group was subdivided into good, fair and poor oral hygiene groups. The mean GOHAI scores of these 3 subgroups were 47.53±6.87, 45.29±7.43 &43.42±9.03 for good, fair and poor respectively. Out of 120participants, only 48 had 20 or more natural functional teeth in the mouth. The GOHAI scores of participants with functional dentition group was 45.69±7.77 and without functional dentition group was 42.83±9.77. Conclusion: Oral health-related quality of life is directly related to the number of functional teeth and oral hygiene status. The overall OHRQoL of the target population needs to be improved. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]