Patient-reported Outcomes Following Traumatic Dental Injuries to Permanent Incisors: A Retrospective Study

Aim: To investigate the effect of moderate-to-severe traumatic dental injuries (TDIs) sustained before the age of 18 on the quality of life (QoL) later in adolescence and young adulthood.Furthermore, to develop a new field-specific questionnaire.Materials and methods: Prognosis for each tooth was estimated based on clinical and radiographic examinations.All participants answered a new, field-specific, non-validated questionnaire.The questionnaire covered key domains including esthetics/appearance, pain, treatment experience and satisfaction, awareness and concerns, and time consumption.Descriptive statistical methods were used for questionnaire analysis.Multiple linear and ordinal regressions were used to analyze the impact of age, number of years since the TDI, sex, and prognosis.Results: A total of 139 injured teeth (82 patients) were included.All patients had sustained their TDI before the age of 18, and their age at follow-up ranged from 13 to 25 years.The distribution of patient's prognosis was 39% good, 48.8% poor, and 12.2% uncertain.Patient-reported outcome (PRO) measures showed that 82.9% of respondents answered that the tooth injury had affected their appearance.The mean score for the patients' thoughts on esthetic impact was 4.20 (SD: 3.34).A total of 47.6% of participants reported that others had noticed that their injured teeth looked different, and 81.7% sometimes thought about their injured teeth.Mean satisfaction with the course of treatment was 6.46 (SD: 2.772), and 39% were unsatisfied with communication.Only sex significantly affected the patients' answers.Conclusion: Moderate-to-severe TDI sustained at a young age affects adolescents' and young adults' oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL) and, thereby, their overall QoL.Clinical significance: Enlightenment of the treatment impacts after TDI on young patients' OHRQoL.