The Consequence of Complete Dentures on Quality of Life of Edentulous Patients in the South-Indian Population Based on Educational and Socioeconomic Grades

Purpose The purpose of this study was to establish the level of denture satisfaction with socio-demographic variables and educational status of the patients rehabilitated with complete denture. Materials and method A total number of 250 completely edentulous patients were selected who fulfilled the inclusion and exclusion criteria. The patients had no past medical history which affects the oral condition; they were first-time denture wearers with period of edentulousness altering between six months to one year and were in the age group of 40-50 years, and were willingly involved in the study. The subjects were grouped according to their socioeconomic status such as employment, education and income level. The correlations were statistically determined using regression analysis. Results Statistical analysis was done using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS, Chicago, Illinois, USA), version 16.0. The significance of percentage error of the two groups was tested by Student t test and p value denoted level of significance (p<.05). Based on the education level, 30.47% of the population were under primary level of education, 57.82% completed higher secondary education and 11.72% of the population were graduates. Based on employment status, 53.12% of the population was unemployed, 32.03% were employed while 14.84% of the population were pensioners. Based on income per month, the population was classified as 6.25%, 31.25%, 21.09%, 22.66%, 18.75% for no income, less than 3000, 5000, 8000 and more than 10000 respectively. Psychological comfort, social ability, and functional improvement was better with higher secondary education level, employed and lower income individuals. Conclusion Rehabilitation of an elderly individual not only includes clinician skills but also the personal perception by the patient. The study concludes that the though there was no statistically significant difference, the individual with secondary level of education and with employed low socioeconomic status had better denture satisfaction than the other category.