Health-related quality of life of dental patients attending a primary care unit

Objective: To determine the impact of more severe, but commonplace, dental problems on Hong Kong Chinese patients' health-related quality of life. Design: Chinese-translated SF-36 Health Survey questionnaires were completed by 93 dentate patients who were attending a Primary Care Unit, mainly for the treatment of dental pain and advanced periodontal conditions. Results: Most patients were in good stable general health, with few limitations to their physical, emotional and social functioning. These latter findings were similar to those found for the general Hong Kong population in another recent normative study. Conclusion: The use of the generic SF-36 questionnaire appears to have little application for routine dental treatment management in a dentate Chinese population.link_to_subscribed_fulltex