An assessment of the impact of acrylic removable partial dentures (RPDs) on the quality of life of partially edentulous patients in a Nigerian Teaching Hospital.

Abstract

Background: There is a regular demand for replacement of lost teeth, which is an indication that loss of teeth has negative impact on the affected individuals. The impact of prosthetic rehabilitation with acrylic RPDs is not clear yet in our environment. Objective: To assess the impact of acrylic RPDs on the quality of life of edentulous patients. Patients and method: A prospective study was carried out using the OHIP questionnaire to assess the effects of acrylic RPDs on the quality of life of partially edentulous patients. Data collected was analyzed using SPSS version 19 software and Chisquare test was used to assess the impact of acrylic denture on the quality of life of the patients. Level of statistical significance was set at p ≤ 0.05. Results: The majority, 59.6% of the patients had maxillary RPDs, while 19.2% had a combination of upper and lower RPDs. The greatest impact of partial edentulousness on oral functions was on self-consciousness with a score of 17, which reduced to 9 following rehabilitation with acrylic RPDs. Two patients had the worst severity of impact (31 -40 scores) without RPDs while none had the worst severity of impact after the insertion of the RPDs. There was a significant difference between the severity (p=0.004) and extent of impact (p=0.000) when the values before was compared with that after the use of dentures. Conclusion: The use of acrylic RPDs significantly reduced the severity and extent of impact of edentulousness on quality of life of partially edentulous patient, and thereby improved their overall wellbeing.