Effects of maxillofacial prosthetic treatment on oral health-related quality of life and masticatory ability of patients with head and neck tumors.

Purpose: Using multivariate analysis, this study investigated the effectiveness of maxillofacial prosthetic treatment in relation to oral health-related quality of life (OHR-QoL), masticatory ability (food intake status score and gum-jelly test score) and related factors in patients who had undergone surgery for head and neck tumors.

Methods: The study cohort comprised 112 patients who underwent surgical resection and prosthetic treatment among 224 patients with head and neck tumors seen at the Maxillofacial Prosthetics Clinic of Tohoku University Hospital in a 2-year period. Correlations between OHR-QoL, food intake status score, and gum-jelly test score (criterion variables), and age, sex, maxillary defect, tongue/soft tissue defect, reconstructive surgery, and chemoradiotherapy (explanatory variables) were investigated, and the data were examined statistically.

Results: Maxillary defect, tongue and soft palate tissue defect, and chemoradiotherapy were identified as factors that hindered the effectiveness of maxillofacial prosthetic treatment for improvement of the OHR-QoL, food intake status score, and gum-jelly test score. On the other hand, reconstructive surgery was a factor that facilitated the improvement of OHR-QoL and masticatory ability with maxillofacial prosthetic treatment.

Conclusion: The factors identified to be related to the success or failure of maxillofacial prosthetic treatment suggest the importance of combining prosthetic intervention with surgical reconstruction.