Impact of oral health on quality of life among police personnel in Bengaluru City, India: A cross-sectional survey

Oral diseases though rarely life-threatening, it does influence the quality of life (QoL). It can have an impact on the functional, social and psychological well-being of an individual. Hence, there is growing interest in oral health outcomes and its impact on QoL. Objectives: To assess the impact of oral health variables on oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL) among police personnel. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among police personnel (n = 212) in the state intelligence headquarter division in Bengaluru. Oral Health Impact Profile-14 (OHIP-14) was used to measure OHRQoL. Dental caries was recorded using World Health Organization 1997 criteria, and periodontal health status was assessed using community periodontal index and loss of attachment. Oral hygiene status was evaluated using simplified oral hygiene index (OHI-S). Correlation between the oral health variables and domains of OHIP was done using the Pearsons correlation coefficient. Results: The prevalence of dental caries and periodontal disease was 43.4% and 68% respectively among the study sample. Oral hygiene status of the personnel was fair with mean score of 2.67 ± 1.4. Domains of functional limitation and physical disability of OHIP-14 significantly correlated with decayed teeth (P < 0.01). Decayed, missing, and filled teeth positively correlated with "physical pain," "physical disability" (P < 0.01), and all other domains (P < 0.05) except social disability. Conclusion: This study demonstrated a significant association between OHIP and oral health variables. The largest impact was related to decay component