Can quality of life index measure oral health over the years? A systematic review

Resumo

The referred quality of life has been increasingly used
in dental studies to measure the impact that the dental treatment
can cause on the individuals. However, there are few studies that
monitor longitudinally this condition. Objective: The aim of this
study was verify the behavior of the impact of the quality of life
of the individuals through a systematic review on observational or
interventional longitudinal studies. Literature review: The articles
were selected in the period from February 5th to March 15th of
2014, with selection criteria: Objectives of the study, longitudinal
studies, assessment of the quality of life of the studied population.
The determination of the 24 selected articles was conducted by
two examiners and revised together. Results: The study generated
five tables related to common areas of dentistry: prosthesis, dental
caries, geriatric health, orthodontics and oral oncology. The impact
achieved in the quality of life of the people with the treatment was
not maintained over the years. Conclusion: The quality of life of
the individuals is little influenced by dental treatments over the
years, with the exception of the cases of prosthesis and severe
orthodontic treatments. The impact of the quality of life seems to
be a measurement of occasional use, preferably carried soon after
some oral intervention and not for longitudinal studies in which
other factors cannot be controlled.