Measuring oral and dental HEALTH-related quality of life in epilepsy patients after oral and dental treatments under general anesthesia

This study aims to measure the change in oral health-related quality of life after oral and dental treatments under general anesthesia in epilepsy patients who need special care. The Franciscan Hospital for Children Oral Health-Related Quality of Life (FHC-OHRQOL) scale was used to measure oral health-related quality of life. Our sample group in this study consists of 55 epilepsy patients with special needs who applied to Çukurova University Faculty of Dentistry, Department of Pedodontics for oral and dental problems and completed oral and dental treatments under general anesthesia. The caregivers of these patients were asked to fill out the forms containing socio-demographic information, previous treatment experiences and oral hygiene habits of the patients before and after the treatment, as well as the FHC-OHRQOL scale. The obtained data were evaluated using SPSS (Statistical Package for the Social Sciences) 25.0 package program. Comparing the total scores for the FHC-OHRQOL questionnaire the results suggest that oral health rehabilitation under general anesthesia had a statistically positive impact on the oral health-related quality of life. The total scores for FHC-OHRQOL were compared to previous dental experience, the relationship between the person who completed the questionnaire, gender and age groups. It has been concluded that oral and dental treatments performed under general anesthesia increase the general quality of life, but the general quality of life is independent of oral and dental problems, problems in daily life ,and parent/caregiver anxiety. Keywords: Epilepsy, Quality of Life, Oral Health, FHC-OHRQOL