DT News - UK - Study provides new insights into emotional impact of tooth loss

Dental Tribune International

Mon. 16 December 2013

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NEWCASTLE UPON TYNE – According to the World Health Organization, tooth loss affects approximately 30 per cent of people aged 65 to 74. However, the impact of tooth loss on patients’ lives has received relatively little attention from scientists. Now, researchers in the UK have found that the condition affects patients’ emotional health to a very serious degree.

The study included 39 men and women from England aged 25 to 80, who were interviewed by researchers at Newcastle University about their experiences with tooth loss and replacement.

The researchers found that while for some participants the loss of a tooth was relatively insignificant, it was devastating for others. For instance, some participants reported that tooth loss affected their social life as they avoided leaving the house. Others even compared tooth loss to losing an arm or leg. Overall, the results suggested that tooth loss can be as disruptive as other medical conditions.

“We were surprised by the impact that tooth loss had on people. It isn’t usually thought of as an illness or taken as seriously as needing a knee replacement, for example,” said Dr Nicolette Rousseau, research facilitator at the university’s Institute of Health and Society. “Maybe that is something we need to look at, and we should start to view tooth loss more like a chronic disease, which needs to be treated,” she added.

The study, titled “‘Your whole life is lived through your teeth’: biographical disruption and experiences of tooth loss and replacement”, was published online on 28 October in the Sociology of Health and Illness journal ahead of print.

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