Does removable partial denture quality affect individuals' oral health?

The impact of oral disorders and interventions on individuals' perceived oral health and oral-health-related quality of life (OHRQoL) is being increasingly recognized as an important health component. This study examined the association between denture quality and OHRQoL in individuals wearing removable partial dentures (RPDs). The study participants were 245 consecutive patients (mean age: 63.3 +/- 8.7 yrs) at a university-based prosthodontic clinic who wore RPDs for more than one month. RPD quality and OHRQoL were determined by means of a 100-mm visual analog scale (VAS) and the 49-item Oral Health Impact Profile-Japanese version (OHIP-J49), respectively. Linear regression analysis between RPD quality and OHRQoL revealed that a 10-mm VAS increase in RPD quality rating was related to -2.8 OHIP-J49 units (95% confidence interval: -4.5 to -1.1, p = 0.001), which represents an improvement in OHRQoL. The results suggest that RPD quality influences individuals' OHRQoL to a clinically significant extent. Abbreviations: oral-health-related quality of life (OHRQoL), removable partial denture (RPD), visual analog scale (VAS), Oral Health Impact Profile (OHIP), OHIP Japanese version (49-item version: OHIP-J49, 54-item version: OHIP-J54), intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC), confidence interval (CI), and standard deviation (SD).