Oral Health Related Quality of Life:Perspectives

Good oral health is essential for the overall well being of an individual. Oral diseases like dental caries, periodontal diseases and oral cancer are highly prevalent and can lead to pain, discomfort, anxiety, poor facial appearance, low self esteem and impaired function. With patient centric measures gaining importance, it is essential to incorporate patient centric measures while restoring the oral health. OHRQoL aims to add this wider view to the clinical assessment of an individual's oral health. It challenges biomedical model of health and provides complete view of the health and disease status of an individual. It is an individual's assessment of how functional, psychological, social and other factors affect personal well being. Various generic and oral health specific quality of life instruments have been developed to assess oral health related quality of life. It has implications in routine clinical practice, research, patient education, surveys and policy formulations. The overall result is a satisfied individual, clinician, researcher and community.