Evaluating the life quality of patients with diseases of oral mucosa referred to Kerman Dental School, Kerman, Iran, in 2014-2015

BACKGROUND AND AIM: This study evaluated the quality of life (QOL) of patients with diseases of oral mucosa referred to Kerman Dental School, Kerman, Iran during 2014-2015.METHODS: Total of 101 patients seen in the Kerman Department of Oral Medicine with chronic oral mucosal diseases were included in the study. They completed the designed questionnaire to assess their QOL. After the final edit, the questionnaire was filled by the subjects. Data were analyzed by t-test, chi-square, Pearson’s correlation, analysis of variance, and post-hoc analysis using SPSS. The level of significance for all data analysis was < 0.05.RESULTS: In this study, 101 patients with oral lesions were studied, [57 women (56.4%) and 44 men (43.6%)]. The patients’ age range was 19-65 years and the average age was 32.4 ± 5.6 years. Patients older than 35 years of age reported significantly lower QOL in the domain of social and emotional status. Significant age-related differences in QOL were not observed in other domains. Men reported significantly better oral health-related QOL in pain and functional limitation than women. Significant differences were observed between the disease groups only for recurrent aphthous ulcers and pemphigus.CONCLUSION: The present study indicated that chronic oral mucosal diseases affect patients’ QOL. Therefore, it seems that oral disease specialists play a key role in the treatment of these patients, including the disease management and symptomatic treatment, and in managing all issues affecting patients’ living conditions.