The use of outcome measures in dental education :
Date
2005
DOI
Authors
Wright, Wanda G.
Version
OA Version
Citation
Abstract
Objective: To examine the effect of dental treatment on patient-assessed outcomes of dental care. Methods: We measured self-assessed oral health in three groups of patients who had presented for either prophylaxis (n=32), endodontic care (n=1 5), or for a denture (n=16) in a dental school setting before and after treatment. Main outcome measures included the single-item self report of oral health (OH-1) and the 6- and 12-item versions of the DELTA, a newly developed brief measure of oral quality of life. We used ANOVA to compute means of self-reported oral health by treatment group. Results: Of the 63 patients who completed the baseline questionnaire, 44 returned questionnaires after treatment (70%). The sample averaged 43 ± 15 years, 48% male and 56% with some college education. Ethnic representation included 35% White, 33% Black and 32% other-mostly Latino. The mean self-reported number of teeth was 20.6. Endodontic patients had worse self-rated oral health by all measures. There were significant differences (p=.001) in pain and distress between prophylaxis and endodontic patients (p=.001) and between endodontic and denture patients (p=.001). Of the 44 patients who completed both surveys, there was an improvement in the OH-1 in all groups. Items assessing pain and distress and feeling uncomfortable about the appearance of teeth mouth and dentures discriminate well between groups. Conclusion: Dental treatment had a positive impact on self-rated oral health in all groups. Individual items from the DELTA discriminate well between groups.
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Thesis (MSD)--Boston University, Henry M. Goldman School of Dental Medicine ((Dental Public Health).
Includes bibliographical references: leaves 27-31.
Thesis (MSD)--Boston University, Henry M. Goldman School of Dental Medicine ((Dental Public Health).
Includes bibliographical references: leaves 27-31.
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This work is protected by copyright. Downloading is restricted to the BU community. If you are the author of this work and would like to make it publicly available, please contact open-help@bu.edu.