Impact of procedures during prosthodontic treatment on patients' perceived burdens.

OBJECTIVES: To assess patient-perceived process-related quality of care in patients undergoing different prosthodontic treatments, and to investigate whether perceived burdens are related to specific procedures during prosthodontic treatments, i.e., to specific treatment components. METHODS: In this non-randomised prospective intervention study, 104 dental patients (mean age: 52.2±13.9 years, 50% female) were included. Burdens during treatments with fixed dental prostheses (FDP, n=90), removable dental prostheses (RDP, n=10), and complete dentures (CD; n=4) were assessed with the Burdens in Prosthetic Dentistry Questionnaire (BiPD-Q). The BiPD-Q total score was calculated as mean of all 25 items, and subscale scores were derived from items corresponding to six specific treatment components (anesthesia, preparation, impression, provisional care/try-in, fixation, global perception), with values ranging from 0 (best) to 100 (worst). Subscale scores were compared by using repeated-measures ANOVA, paired t-tests, and effect sizes, to identify treatment components with highest burdens. RESULTS: Mean BiPD-Q total score was 22.1, ranging from 8.6 for patients with CD to 24.0 for FDP patients. Perceived burdens differed significantly between treatment components, with highest burdens for anesthesia (score: 34.0), followed by preparation (score: 26.8) and impression (score: 24.7). When subscale score for anesthesia was compared to scores for other treatment components, effect sizes were medium to large. CONCLUSION: While prosthodontic treatment is overall perceived as only moderately burdening, specific treatment components differ significantly in perceived burdens. CLINICAL SIGNIFICANCE: Anesthesia, preparation, and impression are treatment components with most unpleasant perceptions, offering the highest potential for improvements for patient-perceived process-related quality of care in prosthetic dentistry.

The Burdens in Prosthetic Dentistry Questionnaire (BiPD-Q): development and validation of a patient-based measure for process-related quality of care in prosthetic dentistry.

PURPOSE: To develop and validate an instrument for the assessment of patient-based measures of process-related quality of care in prosthodontic patients. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In this nonrandomized study, the new Burdens in Prosthetic Dentistry Questionnaire (BiPD-Q) was developed in two steps using a total of 128 prosthodontic patients in a mixed-method approach, combining quantitative-qualitative methodologies. First, the item pool for the instrument was created using semistructured interviews and a group of experts in prosthodontics. This resulted in a preliminary version of the questionnaire. Second, an assessment of redundancy, completion rates, face validity, difficulty, and distribution of the core set of the items was performed. The final version of the BiPD-Q had psychometric core properties (reliability and validity) evaluated. RESULTS: The BiPD-Q consisted of 25 items. Reliability was satisfactory (Cronbach's alpha = .87). The mean score of all items of the BiPD-Q was significantly correlated with mean perceived burdens during treatment as rated by the clinician (r = 0.26; P < .01) and with overall satisfaction with the treatment procedures as rated by patients (r = .31; P < .01), indicating sufficient convergent validity. CONCLUSION: A reliable and valid instrument for the assessment of patient-based process-related quality of care in prosthodontics has been developed. The BiPD-Q allows comparisons of different dental procedures within a treatment course and of different treatment providers. The use of this type of questionnaire appears to be a valuable tool for dental health care research. The outcomes of research using the BiPD-Q may result in a more pleasant treatment experience for future patients.