Determining the quality of life after removing of impacted lower wisdom tooth using the principal component analysis method.

The main objective of this study was to determine to what extent a detailed oral instruction about treatment after surgical removal of a lower wisdom tooth affects postoperative quality of life (QoL). The research on QoL after removal of a lower wisdom tooth was conducted with 108 patients. Depending on the type of information given to each respondent individually, the examinees were divided into two groups: a test group which was given detailed written and oral instructions, and a control group which received only written instructions about treatment after the surgery. In this research the QoL was examined using modified Oral Health Impact Profile-14 (OHIP-14) criterion four, seven and thirty days after the operation depending on the type of information previously provided to the respondents. In order to reduce the dimensionality of the obtained data sets, as well as in order to explain the relationship between the examined variables that are interrelated the principal component analysis (PCA) was applied. Both groups expressed satisfaction with the postoperative period for the individual variables investigated in modified OHIP-14 questionnaire, with the intensity and the order of the major components of satisfaction determined by the PCA differing between the two groups of the patients. On the fourth postoperative day, the test group expressed the highest level of satisfaction with sleep, physical appearance and the ability to eat. In the later postoperative period the test group (on the seventh and thirtieth day) had the highest level of satisfaction with the absence of discomfort during removal of sutures, satisfaction with performed treatment, and the ability to eat. Detailed preoperative oral instructions to patients can significantly improve the quality of life after operative removal of a lower wisdom tooth.