Quality of life and psychological well-being among endodontic patients: a case-control study

Background: Much is already known about the consequences of endodontic disease from clinicians perspectives; a significant omission is an understanding from patients perspectives. This study aimed to determine oral health-related quality of life (OHQoL) and psychological distress among subjects referred for endodontic care compared to patients in periodontal maintenance. Methods: This was a case-control study involving 200 patients; 100 patients requiring endodontic treatment and 100 control subjects (periodontal maintenance patients). OHQoL was assessed using the short form Oral Health Impact Profile measure (OHIP-14) and psychological well-being using the short form of the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12). Variations in OHIP-14 and GHQ-12 scores between the case and control group were determined, and the magnitude of such differences through effect size (ES) calculations. Results: There were significant differences in OHIP-14 summary scores between the case and control groups (p < 0.001) and significant differences across all seven domain scores (p < 0.05). The ES was moderate (0.63) with respect to summary OHIP-14 scores. There were also significant differences in GHQ-12 scores between the case and control groups (p < 0.05), but the ES was small (0.36). Conclusions: OHQoL and psychological well-being is compromised among patients seeking endodontic treatment, and to a greater magnitude than patients in periodontal maintenance.