Oral health-related quality of life of removable partial denture wearers and related factors S. SHAGHAGHIAN*, M. TAGHVA † , J. ABDUO ‡ & R. BAGHERI § *Oral Public Health Depart- ment, School of Dentistry, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, , † Prosthodontic Department, School of Dentistry, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran, ‡ Restorative Department, Melbourne Dental School, Melbourne University, Melbourne, Vic., Australia and § Dental Material Department and Biomaterial Research Centre, School of Dentistry, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran SUMMARY This study aims to investigate the oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL) in a group of removable partial denture (RPD) wearers in Shiraz (Iran), using the Persian version of the Oral Health Impact Profile (OHIP-14). Two hundred removable partial denture wearers had completed a questionnaire regarding patients’ demographic characteristics and denture-related factors. In addition, the OHIP-14 questionnaire was filled out by interviewing the patients. Two measures of interpreting the OHIP-14 scales were utilised: OHIP-14 sum and OHIP-14 prevalence. The relationship of the patients’ demographic characteristics and denture-related factors, with their OHRQoL was investigated. The mean OHIP- 14 sum and OHIP-14 prevalence of RPD wearers were 13Á80 (Æ10Á08) and 44Á5%, respectively. The most problematic aspects of OHIP-14 were physical disability and physical pain. Twenty-seven percentage and 24% of participants had reported meal interruption and eating discomfort, respectively. OHIP-14 prevalence and OHIP-14 sum were found to be significantly associated with factors representing RPD wearer’s oral health such as self-reported oral health and frequency of denture cleaning. Furthermore, OHIP-14 prevalence and OHIP-14 sum were significantly associated with factors related to frequency of denture use such as hours of wearing the denture during the day and wearing the denture while eating and sleeping. Therefore, it can be concluded that the OHRQoL of the patients of the study was generally not optimal and found to be strongly associated with oral health. KEYWORDS: oral health, quality of life, removable, partial, denture Accepted for publication 30 July 2014 Introduction Tooth loss is the outcome of various factors such as caries, periodontal disease, pulpal pathology, trauma and oral cancer and may result in chewing difficulties that affect general health and quality of life (1). Sev- eral treatment options, such as implant, fixed or removable prostheses, can be proposed to replace the missing teeth. Although the interest in dental implants is continuously growing, many edentulous patients are still treated by conventional removable prostheses. The removable partial denture (RPD) is selected by many partially edentulous patients because it is conservative in nature, quickly provided and economical (2). Like other countries, Iran experienced improvement in oral health parameters including reduction of eden- tulous patients’ rate and, consequently, their need for denture treatment. However, as the population is growing in Iran, the number of edentulous patients will increase. It has been estimated that by 2050, the number of edentulous patients will increase by a fac- tor of four in comparison with the edentulous patients number reported in year 1975 (3). Therefore, © 2014 John Wiley & Sons Ltd doi: 10.1111/joor.12221 Journal of Oral Rehabilitation 2015 42; 40--48 Journal of Oral Rehabilitation