Impact of orthognathic surgery on quality of life in patients with different dentofacial deformities: longitudinal study of the Oral Health Impact Profile (OHIP-14) with at least 1 year of follow-up

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to assess the impact of orthognathic surgery for dental facial deformities on oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL) in the immediate postoperative period up to at least 1 year after surgery. STUDY DESIGN: This prospective study evaluated data from 85 patients. OHRQoL was assessed using the Dutch version of the Oral Health Impact Profile questionnaire (OHIP-14NL) preoperatively (T(0)), each day for 7 days postoperatively (T(1)–T(7)) and 4 weeks (T(8)), 6 months (T(9)), and at least 1 year (T(10)) after surgery. The total OHIP score was calculated for each patient, with higher OHIP scores indicating a worse impact on oral health. Patients also completed an extra questionnaire about self-care, discomfort, and experienced pain (rated on a 10-point scale) in the postoperative period (T(1)–T(10)). RESULTS: The mean OHIP score increased sharply at T(1) compared to T(0) but decreased significantly in the first postoperative week. The mean OHIP score at T(8) was still higher than before surgery. However, at T(9) and T(10), the mean OHIP score was significantly lower than at T(0) (P < .05). No significant difference in OHIP score was found between gender, age, type of surgery, and indication for surgery. Pain significantly decreased from T(6) to T(0). The OHIP and pain scores significantly positively correlated at every time point except T(9). CONCLUSION: The findings indicate that OHRQoL is reduced from baseline in the immediate postoperative period but improves over time. By 1 year, OHRQoL improves significantly after orthognathic surgery in patients with dentofacial deformities.