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Sischo L, Broder H L. J Dent Res 2011; 90: 1264–1270

Patient-centred outcomes acknowledge that that many chronic diseases cannot be 'cure(d)'. In addition, patient-centred outcomes 'have particularly “flourished” in the research domain' as it is increasingly being accepted that patients have an 'active role as a member of the treatment team'. Oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL) is a 'multidimensional construct' acknowledging among other issues, the impact of the economic divide. Nevertheless, the relationship between sociodemographic characteristics and OHRQoL is not always as anticipated. For example, the authors cite others who found Latino immigrants reported higher OHRQoL than non-Latino whites. Less defined characteristics such as how patients are able to relate to their disease and how this can impact on their life are revisited. The authors argue that embracing OHRQoL allows care provision to be enhanced by, for example, recruiting psychological approaches such as cognitive behaviour therapy.