Current Status and Associated Factors of Oral Health-Related Quality of Life in Patients with Periodontitis: A Scoping Review.

OBJECTIVE: To clarify the current status of research on oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL) in patients with periodontitis and its associated factors, providing a reference for future research and clinical practice in this field. METHODS: This scoping review was conducted in accordance with the Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) methodological guidance for scoping reviews and reported according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses extension for Scoping Reviews (PRISMA-ScR) checklist. Electronic searches were performed in China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), Wanfang Database, Chinese Science and Technology Journal Database (VIP), the China Biomedical Literature Database (CBM), PubMed, Web of Science, Cochrane Library, and EMbase, from inception to February 26, 2026. Two researchers independently completed literature screening and data extraction; disagreements were resolved through discussion with a third researcher. RESULTS: A total of 13 studies involving 3463 patients were included. Cross-sectional studies were the predominant design (11 studies), with one case-control study and one before-and-after study also included. OHRQoL was generally impaired among patients with periodontitis; studies using the OHIP-14 scale reported scores ranging from 12.56 to 25.43, with poorer OHRQoL observed as periodontitis severity increased. Associated factors could be grouped into six dimensions: general demographic characteristics, Disease conditions, oral health indicators, psychosocial- and cognition-associated factors, health behavior-associated factors, and subjective health perception. Among these, periodontitis severity, dental caries status, dentition integrity, self-efficacy level, and smoking showed relatively consistent conclusions across multiple studies. CONCLUSION: OHRQoL is impaired to varying degrees in patients with periodontitis, and its associated factors span multiple domains. However, the current evidence is predominantly based on cross-sectional studies and Chinese populations, OHRQoL measurement tools are concentrated on OHIP-14, and diagnostic criteria for periodontitis are heterogeneous. Future research should prioritize multicenter, large-sample longitudinal studies and further validate and refine periodontitis-specific OHRQoL instruments, such as OHIP-CP, to improve measurement specificity and clinical utility. CLINICAL SIGNIFICANCE: The impaired oral health-related quality of life among patients with periodontitis highlights the need to incorporate patient-reported OHRQoL assessment into routine periodontal care. Identifying factors associated with OHRQoL, particularly modifiable factors such as oral health behaviors and self-efficacy, may help clinicians provide individualized periodontal management and improve patients' quality of life.