To evaluate the changes in oral-health-related quality of life (OHRQoL) in patients with temporomandibular joint osteoarthritis (TMJ-OA) who underwent five weekly hyaluronic acid injections together with oral glucosamine hydrochloride for three months.
This prospective observational study included 211 consecutive patients who completed the Chinese version of the 14-item Oral Health Impact Profile (OHIP-C14) before treatment (T0), and at first month (T1), third month (T2), and sixth month (T3) after the first injection.
Significant changes in the summary scores on OHIP-C14 were observed during follow-up (P < 0.001). The scores were significantly reduced at T1, T2, and T3 compared with T0 (P < 0.001), and were significantly reduced from T0 to T1 (P < 0.001) and T1 to T2 (P < 0.001), but not from T2 to T3 (P = 0.369). Compared with the norms, the scores were significantly higher at T0 (P < 0.001), not significantly different at T1 (P = 0.482), and significantly lower at T2 (P = 0.013) and T3 (P = 0.003). The changes in the scores differed significantly among age groups (P = 0.012) but not between sexes (P = 0.293).
TMJ-OA has a negative effect on patient OHRQoL. OHRQoL scores were improved to normal levels in both the short and long terms after therapy. OHRQoL improvement was the greatest in the youngest group, but did not differ between the sexes.