Key factors associated with oral health-related quality of life (OHRQOL) in Hong Kong Chinese adults with orofacial pain

Objectives

To investigate key factors associated with oral health-related quality of life (OHRQOL) of Hong Kong Chinese adults with orofacial pain (OFP) symptoms.

Methods

A cross-sectional study was conducted amongst a random sample of registered patients at a primary medical care teaching clinic in Hong Kong. Patients who were aged 35-70 years and had experienced OFP symptoms in the past 1 month were included. The OHRQOL was assessed by the Chinese version of the Oral Health Impact Profile (OHIP-14). A structured questionnaire on OFP symptoms and characteristics in the past 1 month, the depression and non-specific physical symptoms (NPS) scale in the research diagnostic criteria for temporomandibular disorders (RDC/TMD) questionnaire, and questions about professional treatment and dental attendance were administered before a standard clinical assessment. Negative binomial regression with forward stepwise selection was used to investigate key factors associated with the OHIP-14 additive score.

Results

The mean OHIP-14 additive score of the 200 participants was 10.1 (SD 9.4). Regression analysis revealed that five independent factors were significantly associated with higher OHIP-14 additive scores (indicating a poorer OHRQOL): a higher pain scale rating in the past 1 month (p = 0.001), OFP clinical classification as musculoligamentous/soft tissue (MST) or dentoalveolar (DA) instead of neurological/vascular (NV) (p < 0.001), more frequent dental attendance (p = 0.008), moderate/severe RDC/TMD depression (p = 0.005) and moderate/severe RDC/TMD NPS with pain (p = 0.003).

Conclusion

Various factors were associated with OHRQOL and could have implications for the improvement of OHRQOL in people in the community who have OFP symptoms.