Chilean patients’ perception of oral health-related quality of life after third molar surgery

OBJECTIVE: To describe the perception of the quality of life in oral health based on the Health-Related Quality of Life instrument in its Spanish version (HRQOL-sp) in Chilean patients with third molar extraction surgery. PATIENTS AND METHODS: A cross-sectional study. The HRQOL-sp was administered to dental patients at the Public Hospital in Rio Bueno in southern Chile treated for unilateral third molar extraction between March and June 2014. The instrument was applied by phone survey on the first, third, fifth, and seventh days after surgery. For the ordinal scale, the response was considered interference in the quality of life when patients selected the options “quite a bit of trouble” or “lots of trouble” for oral function and general activity; and selected complications-related signs and symptoms, a pain level score with a Verbal Rating Scale (range 0 to 7), and worst pain perceived. The patient’s sociodemographic data, type of surgery, and the quality of life level were analyzed according to the domains of the HRQOL-sp instrument. RESULTS: A total of 106 patients were selected (age: 20.4±7.39 years; 71.7% women) and a total of 127 extracted third molars. On the first day of follow-up, most patients reported interference in their quality of life. The main problems were difficulty opening the mouth (50.94%) and swelling (83.02%). The worst symptom perceived was “bad breath” (>31%) and the worst pain felt was a mean of 4.31±1.62 on the Verbal Rating Scale. All items gradually reduced until the seventh day. CONCLUSION: The HRQOL-sp revealed substantial interference in the quality of life on the first postoperative day. It is suggested that the risk factors associated with quality of life be analyzed and the instrument in Spanish be validated.