Abstract
BACKGROUND: Health-Related Quality of Life (HRQoL) periphrastically has a significant impact on oral health. A recent study has shown the significant facts of the oral health-related quality of life based on many factors such as individual, social status, household management, daily habits, and local factors. The differences in the oral health status possibly occur in between countries, different regions, and topographical areas frequently and indirectly contributing to oral health status. OBJECTIVE: The objective is to evaluate the difference of Oral Health-Related Quality of Life (OHRQoL) and to assess the main affected dimension between rural and urban areas in Kutai Kartanegara Regency. METHODS: This study uses pilot pathfinder design. The respondents comprised of 214 adults who were elder than 18 years and were randomly selected from urban and rural areas in Kutai Kartanegara Regency, Indonesia. The data were collected by 103 samples from the rural area and 111 respondents from the urban area. Oral Health Impacts Profile (OHIP-14) has been translated to Bahasa (Indonesia version). OHIP-14 was used to assess the subjects' oral health-related impact. Shapiro-Wilk and Mann Whitney tests were used to analyze the data, and p-value was set at P < 0.05. RESULTS: The mean OHIP scores in the urban and the rural areas were 25.4 and 28.8, respectively. The overall OHIP-14 score showed a significant statistical difference P= 0,009 (P < 0.05) between rural and urban area. CONCLUSION: This study illustrates that oral health-related quality of life in the urban area is better than in the rural area. Physical pain components of the OHRQoL are the major oral problems associated with both the areas.