Oral impact on daily performance in Iranian adults

BACKGROUND AND AIM:The aim of this study was to evaluate the prevalence and severity of oral impact on dailyperformance (OIDP) in adults attending dental clinics in the city of Kerman, Iran.METHODS:In 2010, a cross-sectional survey was conducted ona sample of 400 patients (age 20-50 years) referring todental centers in Kerman. Validated OIDP inventorywas used to collect data. Clinical examination wasalso carried outby a trained interviewer. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) and Student’s t-test were used for statisticalanalysis.RESULTS:Oral and dental diseases affected at least one daily activity of all participants (100%) during the six monthsprior to the study. The mean OIDP score of the subjects was 19% ± 12%. The most common affected activity waseating (92.6%). The most prevalently reported oralproblem was dental caries (65.3%). Subjects who hadbetter dentalhygiene (tooth brushing and flossing habits) were more likely to have lower OIDP score (P = 0.001 forbrushing;P = 0.002 for flossing).CONCLUSIONS:The results of the study showed that people who attended dental clinics had at least one oral/dentalproblem that affected their daily performance. Since the prevalence of OIDP was very high, providing more dental careand services is required.