ASSESSMENT OF THE CORRELATION BETWEEN NUTRITIONAL STATUS AND ORAL HEALTH-RELATED QUALITY OF LIFE FOLLOWING CONVENTIONAL COMPLETE DENTURE REHABILITATION: A LONGITUDINAL STUDY

Abstract

Background: Complete edentulism can compromise mastication, dietary intake, nutritional status, and oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL). Aim: To examine changes in nutritional status and OHRQoL and their association after conventional complete denture rehabilitation. Study setting and design: A longitudinal before-and-after study conducted in outpatient prosthodontic services at a dental teaching institution in India. Materials and methods: One hundred and fifty completely edentulous adults aged 50 years or older completed the Mini Nutritional Assessment (MNA) and the 12-item Geriatric Oral Health Assessment Index (GOHAI) before denture insertion and after three months of use. Baseline and follow-up scores were compared using paired-samples t-tests, and associations were examined using Pearson correlation coefficients. Results: Mean MNA scores increased from 18.76 (standard deviation [SD] 2.09) to 21.91 (SD 1.64), and mean GOHAI scores increased from 36.74 (SD 5.35) to 43.55 (SD 2.97); both P < 0.001. MNA and GOHAI scores were not correlated at baseline (r = 0.025, P = 0.762) but showed a moderate positive correlation at three months (r = 0.488, P < 0.001). Conclusion: Nutritional-status and OHRQoL scores improved during the first three months after conventional complete denture rehabilitation and were moderately associated at follow-up. The uncontrolled design supports interpretation as temporal improvement and association rather than causation.