Impact of oral submucous fibrosis on oral health‐related quality of life: A condition‐specific OHRQ oL‐ OSF instrument analysis

Objective Oral submucous fibrosis ( OSF ) could have a significant impact on daily life activities of affected individuals. The objective of this study was to investigate the impacts of OSF on oral health‐related quality of life ( OHRQ oL). Materials and Methods A total of 206 clinically diagnosed OSF patients were recruited and subjected to the condition‐specific OHRQ oL‐ OSF instrument and global self‐ratings of oral health and overall well‐being. Results “ Discomfort and functional impairment” dimension was highly prevalent among patients with all stages ( p  < 0.001). OSF also has impacts on other domains, namely “psychological wellness” (82.35%) and “social wellness” (61.16%). Stage IV OSF (25.94 ± 4.05) patients reported higher OHRQ oL‐ OSF scores as compared to stage III (16.20 ± 2.58) and stage II OSF (7.26 ± 1.70) patients. However, stage I OSF patients reported significantly better OHRQ oL ( p  < 0.001). A significant trend demonstrating overall OHRQ oL‐ OSF scores increasing with advancing stages of OSF was observed. The majority of the participants rated their overall oral health status “fair” (34.95%) to “very poor” (26.21%), whereas overall well‐being was rated as moderate (33.00%) to good (31.55%). Conclusion OSF has a significant impact on OHRQ oL. Increasing severity of OSF is associated with the worsening QoL.