LAUSR

Objectives To analyze the oral health-related impact profile in patients treated with three different types of dental prosthesis in student courses. Materials and Methods This prospective bicenter clinical trial was conducted with 151 patients being treated with fixed ( n = 70), removable ( n = 61), or telescopic dental prostheses ( n = 20) in clinical student courses of two German universities from October 2018 to October 2019. All patients completed three standardized German versions of the Oral Health Impact Profile (OHIP-G49/53) before prosthetic treatment (T0), at control after 1 week (T1), and after 3 months (T2), divided into five dimensions: (a) appearance, (b) oral function, (c) psychosocial impact, (d) linguistic limitations, and (e) orofacial pain. Data were analyzed with Kolmogorov–Smirnov, Wilcoxon signed-rank, Kruskal–Wallis, Mann–Whitney, and Cronbach’s alpha tests. Results Within T0–T1 and T0–T2, greater improvements were determined for removable compared with fixed dental prostheses for the dimensions’ oral function ( p ≤ 0.014), linguistic limitations ( p ≤ 0.016), and appearance ( p ≤ 0.003). No significant differences were found between fixed and telescopic dental prostheses ( p ≥ 0.104) or between removable (partial dental prosthesis with clasps and complete dental prosthesis) and telescopic dental prostheses ( p ≥ 0.100). Within T1–T2, a significant improvement in orofacial pain could be determined ( p = 0.007). Conclusions Restorations presented an improvement in oral health-related quality of life. Removable dental prostheses showed better improvement than fixed ones in various dimensions. Clinical relevance Knowledge about the influence of oral health-related quality of life on the three different types of prosthesis used in student courses can be of decisive help in dental consultations.