Author(s): Oyapero A, Edomwonyi A, Akinola TO
Oral health is a state of the oral and related tissues and structures that contribute positively to physical, mental and social well-being by allowing the individual to speak, eat and socialize unhindered by pain, discomfort or embarrassment. The achievement of optimum oral health can however be limited by certain disabilities. Oral diseases can also have an impact on quality of life, affecting chewing, eating, speaking, self-esteem, social interactions and relationships. The aim of this study was to determine the OHRQOL of physically challenged patients attending the physiotherapy clinic at the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital, Ikeja (LASUTH) using the Oral Health Impact Profile -14 (OHIP-14).
This cross-sectional study was conducted at the physiotherapy clinic of LASUTH. A simple random sampling technique was utilized to recruit the respondents and an interviewer administered questionnaire was employed to obtain socio-demographic information, clinical status, OHRQOL and to record the findings of the oral examination by trained examiners. Sixteen (20%) of the subjects attended the physiotherapy clinic due to a cerebrovascular accident (CVA), 14 (17.5%) had lumbar spondylitis while 10 (12.5%) had cervical spondylitis. The highest mean OHIP-14 impact score (1.67) was observed in the subdomain of discomfort on chewing. There was a strong association between the total OHIP-14 scores of the subjects and their clinical indicators.
Using the overall mean OHIP-14 scores, the educational level and the nature of disability of the subjects was significantly associated with OHRQOL with patients with CVA reporting the highest impact. Improving the levels of oral health in those with impairments or disabilities is a major issue for the dental care services. The physiotherapy clinic can be an avenue for aggressive oral health promotion activities in this group of patients.
