Impact on Self-Image and Self-Esteem After Rehabilitation with Complete Dentures: An Observational Clinical Study

To evaluate the influence of self-image and self-esteem on overall quality of life and oral health in edentulous individuals before and after rehabilitation with new complete dentures.

An observational clinical study was conducted with 26 edentulous adults. Participants completed validated questionnaires-Geriatric Oral Health Assessment Index (GOHAI), Dental Impact on Daily Living (DIDL), Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSES), Subjective Happiness Scale (SHS), Body Areas Satisfaction Scale (BASS), Multidimensional Body-Self Relations Questionnaire-Appearance Scales (MBSRQ-AS), Smile Test (ST), and Facial Outcome Evaluation (FOE)-before treatment and 2 to 3 weeks after denture delivery. Pre- and posttreatment differences were analyzed using Wilcoxon signed-rank test, and relationships among domains were examined using Spearman correlation (α = .05).

Significant improvements were observed in oral health perception and several psychosocial domains, including GOHAI (26.0 to 28.5; P = .015), self-esteem on the RSES (-0.25 to 1.0; P < .001), smile frequency on the ST (11.0 to 11.5; P = .006), and appearance-related dimensions of the DIDL (P < .001). Satisfaction with dental and facial-related body areas also increased, as reflected by improvements in BASS-general (37.5 to 31.0; P = .008), teeth (3 to 1; P < .001), mouth (2 to 1; P = .006), and profile (2 to 1; P = .001). Spearman analyses revealed statistically significant correlations among functional, esthetic, and psychosocial domains, of weak to moderate strength. No significant changes were detected for SHS, FOE, or the MBSRQ-AS subscales (P > .05).

Rehabilitation with dentures resulted in meaningful short-term improvements in oral health perception, self-esteem, and esthetic selfperception. Weak to moderate correlations among functional, esthetic, and psychosocial domains indicate interconnected early changes, while broader emotional constructs showed no significant variation.