A. Leao et A. Sheiham, RELATION BETWEEN CLINICAL DENTAL STATUS AND SUBJECTIVE IMPACTS ON DAILY LIVING, Journal of dental research, 74(7), 1995, pp. 1408-1413
Although clinical dental status has weak correlations with subjective
impacts, some of them are significant. Those variables which had signi
ficant correlations could be used as a starting point to understand cl
inical and social characteristics of people who experience dental prob
lems. This is indeed the basis for the current research. The study com
pares psychosocial impacts on the quality of people's life with their
respective oral status. To that end, a socio-dental indicator, the 'De
ntal Impact of Daily Living' (DIDL), involving five dimensions, togeth
er with a scale which assesses dimension impacts, was developed. The r
esulting instrument was validated and the reliability tested. The inst
rument generates a total final score, in addition to scores for each d
imension. The method was tested in Brazil on a sample of 662 people, a
ged from 35 to 44 years, of two social classes, both sexes, and with t
hree different levels of dental caries status or with a full upper den
ture. To test whether DIDL discriminated between groups with different
levels of subjective impact, we analyzed how oral status, social clas
s, and gender varied according to impacts. Different levels of oral st
atus had different impacts on people's dairy life. On the basis of the
results, it is reasonable to suggest that oral status and social and
psychological dimensions should be considered simultaneously when in a
ssessment of people's dental needs.