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The purpose of this study was to examine physical, mental and social factors affecting the subjective oral health status of people losing teeth in an effort to explore the relationship between their subjective oral health state and the quality of life related to oral health.
The subjects in this study were 178 people who visited seven dental clinics located in seven different districts in Seoul to receive treatment after losing one or more teeth. After the purpose of the study was explained, those who agreed to be surveyed were asked to fill out self- administered questionnaires. The questionnaires dealt with the general characteristics of the subjects, subjective oral health status and the quality of life related to oral health. One item each was allocated to general characteristics involving gender, age, marital status, occupation, gross income, drinking and smoking and to subjective oral health status. As for the quality of life related to oral health, a simplified Korean version of oral health inventory was utilized, which employed a five-point Likert scale that provided five different levels of affirmative and negative answer choices.
Regarding subjective oral health status, 48.3 percent of the people who lost one or more teeth found themselves not to be in good health.
1. There were significant differences in subjective oral health state according to marital status and smoking. Age and marital status made significant differences to the quality of life related to oral health.
2. Among demographic characteristics, marital status and smoking made significant differences
to subjective oral health status, and the quality of life related to oral health significantly varied with age and marital status.
3. As a result of investigating the subfactors of the quality of life related to oral health, there were significant gaps in physical pain, mental difficulties, waning physical function, faltering mental ability, declining social skills and social disadvantage.
4. A worse subjective oral health status led to the lower quality of life linked to oral health, and the former made a statistically significant difference to the latter.
5. The number of lost tooth made no statistically significant differences to OHIP-14.