Impact of donor site for bone graft harvesting for dental implants on health-related and oral health-related quality of life

Objectives: To assess and compare changes in health-related quality of life (HRQoL) and oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL) after bone graft harvesting for dental implants with respect to the donor site.

Material and methods: Autologous bone grafts were harvested in a consecutive sample of 23 patients (mean age: 46.1 years; 52% female) either from an intra-oral (IO; N = 8; chin, ascending ramus, buttress region) or an extra-oral (EO; N = 15; anterior iliac crest) donor site, followed by implant placements. HRQoL was self-administered by the patients using the Short-Form 36 (SF-36) and OHRQoL was assessed using the Oral Health Impact Profile (OHIP-49) preoperatively, 3 days and 4 weeks after surgery. Impact of donor site on changes in both concepts of QoL was determined in multiple linear regression analyses.

Results: Patients with extra-oral donor sites reported a substantial deterioration in the physical component (PC) of HRQoL indicated by an increase in the PC score of the SF-36 (P < 0.001), whereas this score did not significantly change in patients with intra-oral donor sites. The mental health component (MC) of HRQoL (MC score of the SF-36) remained virtually identical in both groups. OHRQoL deteriorated from baseline (67.7 OHIP points) to first follow-up (76.6 OHIP points) in both groups, however, changes were not statistically significant.

Conclusion: In clinical decision-making regarding donor site for bone graft harvesting, patients and clinicians should be aware of the expected decrease in HRQoL if deciding to use extra-oral donor sites. Whenever possible, intra-oral donor sites should be preferred.