Relative Impact of Oral Rehabilitation on Quality of Life and Patient Satisfaction Following Mandibular Resection in a Sub-Urban Nigerian Tertiary Hospital

摘要

Background: Resection of the mandible can lead to bony defect which has a direct bearing on the quality of life of the patient. Reconstruction of such defect is necessary to restore aesthetics but optimal functioning of the oral cavity can only be achieved with prosthodontic rehabilitation. We, hereby, report the impact of oral rehabilitation on patients’ satisfaction and quality of life after mandibular reconstruction in our institution. Materials and Method: Patients who had oral rehabilitation following mandibular reconstruction from January 2010 to December 2015 were included. Patients’ oral health related quality of life [OHRQL] before and after rehabilitation was evaluated using the head and neck module of the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer [EORTC]. Oral functions and denture satisfaction were also evaluated with Visual Analogue Scale [VAS]. Data obtained were analyzed with SPSS version 20 and level of significance was set at p < 0.05. Result: Of the 43 patients who had mandibular reconstruction during the study period, only 21 [48.8%] had dental rehabilitation. Twelve patients [57.1%] had conventional acrylic denture, 5 had fixed denture [bridge] while 4 patients had rehabilitation with dental implants. The mean follow-up period after rehabilitation was 8.42 months [Range: 6 - 22 months]. Although, OHRQL analysis revealed an improvement following rehabilitation, only the social aspect of the evaluation was statistically significant [p < 0.01]. Also, type of rehabilitation had a significant correlation with oral function as patients who received dental implant had better VAS score [p = 0.00]. On the contrary, there was no statistically significant difference in aesthetics amongst the patients regardless of type of rehabilitation [p = 0.26]. Conclusion: Findings from this study showed that there is improvement in OHRQL following dental rehabilitation. Also, Patients who were rehabilitated with dental implant had better oral function than those with fixed or conventional denture.