The psychological impact of prosthodontic treatment--a discrete response modelling approach

Investigating the psychological impact of dental treatment is of high relevance to clinical decision makers and a promising approach for furthering patient satisfaction. This paper aims at detecting factors which influence the psychological impact of prosthodontic treatment and its relevance for the dentist. We apply microeconometric techniques and, specifically, control for sample selection bias in order to derive evidence from a panel database which measures oral health-related quality of life (OHIP-G) before and after treatment. The survey rests upon an initial evaluation of 381 patients between 2004 and 2005 and a follow-up in January 2006 (response rate 47%, corresponding to 180 patients) at the University Medical Centre Regensburg, Germany. Our findings indicate that persons of different age have unlike mindsets towards prosthodontic interventions and that there are gender differences with respect to the psychological sensitivity towards prosthodontic interventions. Moreover, the psychological impact attributable to treatment is influenced by the type of limitation in oral well-being before treatment. We could identify distinct factors including age, gender and the type of limitation in oral well-being as causing differentiation in the psychological impact of prosthodontic treatment. Specific patient characteristics may modulate the psychological impact of prosthodontic treatment.