PATTERN OF PRESENTATION AND QUALITY OF LIFE OF PATIENTS AT THE ORAL DIAGNOSIS CLINIC UCH, IBADAN

Abstract

Patients' presentation at the dental clinic is mostly related to pain. This study aims at documenting the current trend in the pattern of patients' presentation and the impact of dental diseases on quality of life. Materials and Methods This is a descriptive, cross sectional survey of consecutive patients attending the Oral Diagnosis Clinic UCH, Ibadan. Data was collected with a validated, structured interviewer administered questionnaire. Information collected, included: demographic variables, clinic attendance, reasons for presentation, attitude to oral health, oral hygiene practices and questions to assess the impact of oral disease on quality of life. Data was subjected to analysis using SPSS. Results There were 300 respondents, consisting of 167 females (55.6%} and 133 males (44.4%}. The age range was 16-86 years with a mean of 38.21(± 16.10} years. The majority, 54.3% were aged 20-39 years. The commonest reason for seeking help was pain of dental origin (56%} Only a few (5.7%} attended dental clinic regularly for checkups. The relationship between social class and previous dental visit was insignificant (p= 0.07}. Majority (80.7%) used tooth brush and paste to clean their mouth but only 41.0% do so twice daily. The impact of oral disease on daily activity as highest in the order of eating and enjoying food (61.7%), work disturbance (44.4%) and sleep disturbance (42.2%). Conclusion Despite respondents' awareness of the benefits of regular dental check up, this practice was poor among them. Pain was still the commonest cause of presentation. Oral diseases had great impact on respondents' quality of life, with marked affectation of daily activities such as eating, sleep and work disturbance