Psychosocial and Behavioral Impact of Three Clinical Presentations of Oligodontia in a Tertiary Hospital

To investigate the psychosocial and behavioral impact of oligodontia across three presentation types and determine if presentation type can infer impact.

Thirty patients who had been diagnosed and treated for oligodontia between 2006 and 2021 were identified from hospital records. Patients received two questionnaires: (1) a modified version of a condition-specific questionnaire- the Cleft Research Questionnaire (CRQ), used to investigate demographic, life, and treatment details and impacts-and (2) the Oral Health Impact Profile (OHIP-14), used to investigate the oral health-related quality of life. Patients were assigned to three presentations (Types 1 to 3) of oligodontia, identified according to the edentulous space present and complexity of prosthodontic treatment required. The hypothesis that there is a relationship between oligodontia type and study variables was tested.

Twenty-two questionnaires were completed and returned. There were 13 men and 9 women. The age range was from 16 to 32 years. In total, 18 patients had nonsyndromic oligodontia and 4 had oligodontia associated with anhidrotic ectodermal dysplasia (AED). The main areas of impact were patient-reported: life less satisfying (64.5%, n = 14; pretreatment), making friends (45%, n = 10), school participation (45%, n = 10), and public speaking (45%, n = 10). No relationship was discovered between the degree of physical effect of the presentation type and study variables, including the degree of psychosocial impact or life satisfaction.

Oligodontia can have a negative functional and social impact on a patient prior to prosthodontic treatment. Prosthodontic treatment improved the life satisfaction for most patients. Psychosocial outcomes could not be inferred by the presentation type of oligodontia.