Relation between clinical dental status and subjective impacts on daily living

Abstract

Although clinical dental status has weak correlations with subjective impacts, some of them are significant. Those variables which had significant correlations could be used as a starting point to understand clinical and social characteristics of people who experience dental problems. This is indeed the basis for the current research. The study compares psychosocial impacts on the quality of people's life with their respective oral status. To that end, a socio-dental indicator, the 'Dental Impact of Daily Living' (DIDL), involving five dimensions, together with a scale which assesses dimension impacts, was developed. The resulting instrument was validated and the reliability tested. The instrument generates a total final score, in addition to scores for each dimension. The method was tested in Brazil on a sample of 662 people, aged from 35 to 44 years, of two social classes, both sexes, and with three different levels of dental caries status or with a full upper denture. To test whether DIDL discriminated between groups with different levels of subjective impact, we analyzed how oral status, social class, and gender varied according to impacts. Different levels of oral status had different impacts on people's daily life. On the basis of the results, it is reasonable to suggest that oral status and social and psychological dimensions should be considered simultaneously when in assessment of people's dental needs.