Summary  The aim of the study was to evaluate patient‐reported effects of treatment with fixed dental prostheses (FDP) and removable dental prostheses (RDP) and relate the change in Oral Health Related Quality of Life (OHRQoL) to the type of treatment and objective dental variables of aesthetics and mastication. Additionally, the purpose of the study was to identify aspects of impairment and improvement that the treatments caused. Fixed dental prostheses treatment was performed in 200 patients and RDP treatment in 107 patients. Gender, age, region of replacement, and number of teeth present and replaced were obtained. The participants completed the Oral Health Impact Profile 49 (OHIP‐49) before and after treatment. A control group with no need for dental treatment also completed the OHIP‐49. All participants had a significant improvement in OHRQoL. The improvement was higher for the RDP group than the FDP group. Removable dental prostheses that replaced only masticatory teeth did not improve the OHRQoL significantly. The improvement in OHRQoL for both the FDP and RDP groups was not at the level of the control group. Higher age was associated with lower improvement in OHRQoL. Higher age, being a woman and having teeth replaced in the aesthetic zone were associated with deterioration in OHRQoL. Both RDP treatment and FDP treatment were associated with a reduction in the problems most frequently reported before treatment. Treatment with RDP was associated with new problems caused by the RDP. Fixed dental prostheses and RDP treatments improved OHRQoL and reduced the number of problems. The RDP participants improved more than the FDP participants.

The aims of this study were to measure and describe the oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL) and to identify the complications caused by partial removable dental prosthesis (RDPs) in patients 1-5 years after treatment. Complications were identified in 65 patients who were treated with 83 RDPs (48 upper, 35 lower). OHRQoL was measured using the OHIP-49 before treatment and at the baseline (1-2 months after treatment) and follow-up (1-5 years after treatment) examinations. The types and numbers of oral problems that were experienced were described based on OHIP items with a score of 3 and 4. A significant improvement (P < 0·05) in the total OHIP-49 was registered from pre-treatment (mean 42, SD ± 37) to baseline (mean 29, SD ± 27) and from pre-treatment to 1-5 years after treatment (mean 32, SD ± 30). There was no significant difference between the baseline and 1- to 5-year follow-up examinations. Problems with eating and appearance registered at pre-treatment were improved at baseline and after 1-5 years. Problems with dentures that had been registered pre-treatment were improved at baseline but reoccurred after 1-5 years. The two most frequent complications were ill-fitting RDPs and inflammation of the oral mucosa, followed less frequently by fractures of the clasps. Treatment with RDPs improved OHRQoL, but denture-related problems partly remained, and new problems related to RDPs occurred 1-5 years after treatment. The two most frequent complications were ill-fitting RDPs and inflammation of the oral mucosa.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the possible use in prosthodontics of a method for an interview technique allowing maximal individuality within the cultural boundaries. The impact of partial edentulism and removable partial denture (RPD) wearing on quality of life was chosen as the target question. The interview included patient generated selection of five quality of life cues. The current status/intensity of each cue was measured by use of a Visual Analogue Scale (VAS), the relative weight/importance between the cues by a direct-weighting (DW) instrument, and a summarized quality of life score was calculated. One hundred and one participants with partial edentulism with or without RPDs were included in the study. No correlation was found between the VAS- and DW-scores, indicating that different aspects are measured with these two instruments. Sixty to seventy per cent of the participants answered positively to questions about the test method, including self-knowledge, consciousness and identification of needs and wishes. The 'Schedule for the Evaluation of Individual Quality of Life - Direct Weighting' turned out to be a useful instrument for assessing patients' priorities, and fulfils in many ways the demands for individualized problem identification, decision-making and treatment planning. The results of the comparison of RPD wearers and non-RPD wearers showed that aesthetics is a major factor and that the overall quality of life between the experienced RPD wearers and non-RPD wearers in this study did not differ significantly.

The difference in OHRQoL between participants about to receive RDP and FDP was limited. The most frequently reported problems concerned functional limitations, discomfort and physical disabilities. Social handicap was not frequently reported.

Knowledge of impairments, wishes and expectations is essential to make correct decisions regarding oral rehabilitation. The purpose of this study was to investigate discomforts, wishes and expectations in patients' with partial edentulism before entering oral rehabilitation. In Copenhagen, Denmark, and Malmö, Sweden, respectively, 20 patients with partial edentulism seeking rehabilitation were interviewed in a semistructured qualitative manner. The interviews were transcribed and analysed yielding overall domains. Six themes appeared as overall domains: (i) experienced impairments, (ii) experienced social awareness, (iii) expectation to treatment, (iv) expectation to durability/survival, (v) coping strategies dealing with the tooth loss including explanations of the tooth loss and (vi) modifications to experienced impairment. The impairments were mostly experienced as problems in social settings. Most participants expressed a simple wish to function normally; a fixed solution was preferred. Many Danish participants accepted a removable solution whereas only few Swedish participants did so. The domains 'coping strategies' and 'modifications' were not part of the chosen topics of interest, indicating a high wish of the participants to explain their tooth loss and how they coped with it. In conclusion, a large degree of social impairment was found in the patient group along with several coping strategies. The impairments were modified by a number of factors indicating that highly individualised care and treatment is needed. A state of normality was described as the primary treatment wish with a higher acceptance of removable solutions in Denmark than in Sweden. For final decision-making, surrounding factors seemed to influence the patients' choices.