Oral health-related quality of life in patients with tooth wear

The aim of this study was to investigate the impact of tooth wear (TW) on patients' oral health-related quality of life. A total of 198 participants were included in the study. They belonged to the following four different diagnostic categories: 51 patients with TW, 46 patients with painful temporomandibular disorders (TMD), 43 complete denture wearers and 58 healthy controls. The Dutch version of the Oral Health Impact Profile (OHIP-NL) was used to assess the patients' oral health-related quality of life. The results of the study show that patients with TW have an impaired oral health-related quality of life compared with healthy controls (P < 0·001). Furthermore, the impact of TW and of edentulousness do not differ significantly, while both of these oral conditions seem to have a lower impact on quality of life compared with painful TMD (P < 0·05). It was concluded that TW has a negative impact on patients' quality of life. This impact is comparable with that of edentulousness.