Quality of life related to both general and oral health two years after treatment for subcondylar fracture

The success of treatment for condylar fractures is usually assessed by functional outcomes, while studies on patient perceptions are scarce. A cross-sectional study was performed to assess the middle-term quality of life, related to both general health and oral health, of patients treated for subcondylar fracture, either by open reduction or by closed fixation, compared to healthy volunteers. In a single trauma centre, among 226 consecutive patients with subcondylar fractures that were treated in years 2018–2019 (two to three years prior to the survey), 148 fulfilled the selection criteria. They were classified as those with other facial fractures that were treated by open reduction (n = 79), and those without other fractures that were treated either by open reduction (n = 34) or by closed fixation (n = 35). An age matched group of healthy volunteers (n = 65) also participated in the study. All participants replied to the Short-Form-Health-Survey (SF-36) and the Oral-Health-Impact-Profile (OHIP-49), using the social messenger platform WhatsApp. The SF-36 showed that patients with closed-fixation reported better mental health than patients with open reduction, but worse than healthy volunteers. Contrariwise, on the OHIP-49, compared to patients with open reduction (with/without other facial fractures) and to healthy volunteers, patients with closed-fixation reported worse quality of life on physical pain, psychological discomfort, and physical disability. The influence of age was evident just on the OHIP-49, on the report of physical limitation and physical pain. Two to three years after the subcondylar fracture, patients treated either by open reduction or closed fixation might report decreased quality of life compared to healthy volunteers; patients treated by open reduction might report lesser mental health related quality of life (SF-36), but superior oral health related quality of life (OHIP-49) than patients treated by closed fixation.