Impact of rehabilitation versus edentulism on systemic health and quality of life in patients affected by periodontitis: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

AIM: To investigate the effect of rehabilitation in fully/partially edentulous patients with stage IV periodontitis on oral-health-related quality of life (OHRQoL) and systemic health. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A systematic electronic and manual search was conducted. Three authors independently reviewed, selected, and extracted the data. Outcomes were OHRQoL (Oral Health Impact Profile 14 [OHIP-14] and OHIP-49, General Oral Health Assessment Index [GOHAI], visual analogue scale, symptoms registration) and systemic health-related outcomes (incidence and prevalence of systemic diseases, values of systemic disease indicators). Qualitative data were synthesized for OHRQoL and systemic health-related outcomes. Meta-analysis was conducted on available quantitative data. RESULTS: The search identified 59 articles (6724 subjects in total). OHRQoL improved across all the studies, irrespective of the number of missing teeth, their location, or treatment modality. Meta-analysis showed significant improvement of OHIP-49 (36.86, p < .01) in manuscripts including subjects affected by periodontitis, consistently with the remaining literature (reduction of score points post rehabilitation: OHIP-14 = 10.52, OHIP-49 = 56.02, GOHAI = 5.40, p < .01 for all). Non-rehabilitated subjects exhibited inferior cognitive status, higher medication intake, and frailty. However, our data are limited and should be interpreted with caution. CONCLUSIONS: Oral rehabilitation improves OHRQoL and, potentially, systemic health in edentulous patients. It is unclear whether these findings may be extrapolated to patients with stage IV periodontitis.