Dental pain and oral health-related quality of life of patients attending a Nigerian tertiary hospital - a cross-sectional study
Main Article Content
Abstract
Background: Poor oral health significantly compromises quality of life. While the link between oral conditions and Oral Health-Related Quality of Life (OHRQoL) is established, specific data on the impact of dental pain from various oral conditions in Nigerian patient populations is scarce. This study addresses that gap.
Aim: To assess the impact of dental pain on OHRQoL among patients at the University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital, Rivers State, Nigeria.
Methods: A descriptive, cross-sectional study conducted among patients attending the University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital (UPTH). Semi-structured questionnaires were used for data collection. The questionnaire had three sections. Section A included information on socio-demography, Section B on diagnosis and duration of dental pain, and Section C on the short form of the Oral Health Impact Profile questionnaire (OHIP-14) to evaluate the QHRQoL of dental pain among patients. Data were analysed using SPSS version 27.0, with statistical significance set at p < 0.05.
Results: There were 212 participants [66 (31.1%) males and 146 (68.9%) females]. 'Physical pain' was the most severely affected domain. Maxillofacial fractures (mean OHIP-14: 31.3 ± 13.8), pericoronitis (28.6 ± 10.9), and dental caries (27.5 ± 11.5) had the highest negative impact. Most participants with these conditions reported negative OHRQoL impact (p <0.001). Gingivitis had the least impact.
Conclusion: Dental pain, particularly from maxillofacial fractures, pericoronitis, and caries, greatly impairs OHRQoL. Hence, the need for targeted, prompt management of painful dental conditions to improve patient well-being and highlights the value of OHRQoL measures in clinical assessment.
Downloads
Article Details
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
The journal grants the right to make small numbers of printed copies for their personal non-commercial use under Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 Unported License.
References
1.Fiorillo L. Oral health: the first step to well-being. Medicina (Kaunas) 2019;55(10):676.
2.Peres MA, Macpherson LMD, Weyant RJ, Daly B, Venturelli R, Mathur MR, et al. Oral diseases: a global public health challenge. Lancet 2019;394(10194):249-260.
3.Koistinen S, Olai L, Ståhlnacke K, Fält A, Ehrenberg A. Oral health-related quality of life and associated factors among older people in short-term care. Int J Dent Hyg 2020;18(2):163-172.
4.Bennadi D, Reddy CV. J Oral health-related quality of life. J Int Soc Prev Community Dent 2013;3(1):1–6.
5.Lyons D, Zarzeczny A, Kahar P. Examining oral hygiene behaviours, oral health-related quality of life, and attitudes toward oral health among minority students. Cureus 2024;16(5):e60209.
6.The World Health Organisation Quality of Life Assessment (WHOQOL): Position paper from the World Health Organisation. Soc Sci Med 1995;41(10):1403-1409.
7.US Department of Health and Human Services. Oral health in America: A report of the Surgeon General. Rockville, Maryland: US Department of Health and Human Services, National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research, National Institute of Health, 2000.
8.Mittal H, John MT Sekulić S, Theis-Mahon N, Rener-Sitar K. Patient-reported outcome measures for adult dental patients: a systematic review. J Evid Based Dent Pract 2019;19(1):53-70.
9.Riva F, Seoane M, Reichenheim, ME, Tsakos G, Celeste RK. Adult oral health-related quality of life instruments: a systematic review. Community Dent Oral Epidemiol 2022;50(5):333-338.
10.Oliveira BH, Nadanovsky P. Psychometric properties of the Brazilian version of the oral health impact profile‑short form. Community Dent Oral Epidemiol 2005;33(4):307‑314.
11.Saber F, Dawoud M, Hanafy SS, Omar OM. Evaluation of oral health-related quality of life in a group of dental students enrolled in Cairo University: a cross-sectional study. J Drug Deliv Ther 2023;13(9):8-14.
12.Slade GD, Spencer AJ. Development and evaluation of the Oral Health Impact Profile. Community Dent Health 1994;11(1):3-11.
13.Mulla M. Impact of oral diseases and conditions on oral health-related quality of life: a narrative review of studies conducted in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Cureus 2021;13(9):e18358.
14.Afolabi JB, Oziegbe EO, Adegoke SA, Adefehinti O, Oyetola EO, Folayan MO. Impact of dental caries on the quality of life of children with sickle cell anaemia in Nigeria. J Public Health Afr 2025;16(4):a1517.
15.Braimoh OB, Alade GO. Oral health-related quality of life and associated factors of elderly population in Port Harcourt, Nigeria. Saudi J Oral Sci 2019;6(1):18-24.
16.Aikins EA, Ordinioha B. Impact of oral diseases on the quality of life of public service workers in Port Harcourt, Nigeria. J Orofac Res 2015;5(2):46-50.
17.Lawal FB, Taiwo JO, Arowojolu MO. How valid are the psychometric properties of the oral health impact profile-14 measure in adult dental patients in Ibadan, Nigeria? Ethiop J Health Sci 2014;24(3):235-242.
18.World Health Organisation. Oral health surveys: basic methods, 5th edition. Geneva: World Health Organisation, 2013.
19.Schmidt J, Kunderova M, Pilbauerova N, Kapitan M. A review of evidence-based recommendations for pericoronitis management and a systematic review of antibiotic prescribing for pericoronitis among dentists: inappropriate pericoronitis treatment is a critical factor of antibiotic overuse in dentistry. Int J Environ Res Public Health 2021;18(13):6796.
20.Dionysopoulos D, Gerasimidou O, Beltes C. Dentin hypersensitivity: etiology, diagnosis and contemporary therapeutic approaches - A review in literature. Appl Sci (Basel) 2023;13(21):11632.
21.van der Zaag PD, Rozema R, Reininga IHF, van Minnen B; REDUCTION study group members. Standardized clinical examination of maxillofacial injury: fracture diagnostic accuracy across experience levels. Eur J Trauma Emerg Surg 2025;51(1):251.
22.Larsen T, Fiehn NE. Dental biofilm infections - an update. APMIS 2017;125(4):376-384.
23.GBD 2017 Oral Disorders Collaborators; Bernabe E, Marcenes W, Hernandez CR, Bailey J, Abreu LG, Alipour V, et al. Global, regional, and national levels and trends in burden of oral conditions from 1990 to 2017: a systematic analysis for the global burden of disease 2017 study. J Dent Res 2020;99(4):362–373.
24.Morales A, Strauss FJ, Hämmerle CHF, Romandini M, Cavalla F, Baeza M, et al. Performance of the 2017 AAP/EFP case definition compared with the CDC/AAP definition in population-based studies. J Periodontol 2022;93(7):1003-1013.
25.An R, Li S, Li Q, Luo Y, Wu Z, Liu M, et al. Oral health behaviours and oral health-related quality of life among dental patients in China: a cross-sectional study. Patient Prefer Adherence 2022;16:3045–3058.
26.Devaraj CG, Eswar P. Reasons for use and non-use of dental services among people visiting a dental college hospital in India: a descriptive cross-sectional study. Eur J Dent 2012;6(4):422-427.
27.Mahat AK, Panta N, Shrewastwa MK, Puri R, Basnet LB. Short- and long-term impact on oral health-related quality of life after maxillofacial trauma. J Nepal Health Res Counc 2023;21(1):76-80.
28.de Carvalho Andrade AK, de Mendonca MPR, de Alcantara Pinto CM, de Jesus Rodrigues Mello M, Benevides BS, de Barros Silva PG, et al. Oral health status and dental care for hospitalised patients with facial fractures. Res Soc Dev 2021;10(8):e15810816637.
29.Pepper T, Konarzewski T, Grimshaw P, Combes J. Treatment of mandibular third molars and pericoronitis in British military personnel: Influence of guidelines from the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence. Br J Oral Maxillofac Surg 2016;54(10):1111–1115.
30.Magraw CB, Golden B, Phillips C, Tang DT, Munson J, Nelson BP, et al. Pain with pericoronitis affects quality of life. J Oral Maxillofac Surg 2015;73(1):7-12.
31.Bukhari OM. Dental caries experience and oral health-related quality of life in working adults. Saudi Dent J 2020;32(8):382-389.
32.de Albuquerque LS, de Queiroz RG, Abanto J, Strazzeri Bönecker MJ, Soares Forte FD, Sampaio FC. Dental caries, tooth loss and quality of life of individuals exposed to social risk factors in Northeast Brazil. Int J Environ Res Public Health 2023;20(17):6661.
33.Bhargava N, Jadhav A, Kumar P, Kapoor A, Mudrakola DP, Singh S. Oral health-related quality of life and severity of periodontal disease. J Pharm Bioallied Sci 2021;13(Suppl 1):S387-S390.
34.Slowik J, Panasiuk A, Kaczor M, Wnuk M. Oral health-related quality of life in patients with periodontitis: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Front Oral Health 2025;6:1503829.