Abstract Objectives: The purpose of this study was to evaluate whether there is a need to develop a new questionnaire measuring dental appearance or whether this aspect of oral health related quality of life (OHRQoL) is already part of the outcome of a well established questionnaire - the Oral Health Impact Profile (OHIP). Methods: Based on internationally accepted guidelines about dental aesthetics a questionnaire was developed to measure "dental appearance". Eleven items defined an aesthetic-sum-score (ASS, 0="satisfied"; 44="dissatisfied"). Furthermore, OHRQoL was evaluated using the German version of the OHIP (49 items). 30 patients (14 women, 16 men, mean age 59±10 years) with normal well-being were included in the study. They received either fixed (n=12) or removable partial dentures (n=13), including the restoration of the anterior teeth of the maxilla, or full dentures in the maxilla (n=5). Both questionnaires were completed before and 4 weeks after treatment. Results: The median of the ASS was 16 (before) / 1,5 (after) and the OHIP sum score was 46 (before) / 16 (after). The differences between both surveys were statistically significant for both questionnaires (P<0.0001, Wilcoxon Rank Sum Test). No significant correlation could be shown between the ASS and the OHIP sum score or any of the OHIP subscales (P>0.05, Pearson correlation coefficient). Merely between two single questions of the OHIP (question 22 and 31: asking for aesthetic issues) and the ASS a statistically significant but weak correlation (r22=0.449, r31=0.505 (before); r22=0.505, r31=0.438 (after), P<0.015) was found. Conclusions: Due to the statistically significant difference between before and after treatment the basis validation of the ASS was achieved. As dental appearance is not measured accurately with the OHIP questionnaire it seems reasonable to use an additional aesthetic module to evaluate dental appearance as an important co-factor of OHRQoL.

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