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

Dental Tribune International

Mon. 16 December 2013

save

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.

To post a reply please login or register

Research provides new insights into how acid damages teeth

GUILDFORD, UK: Researchers from the universities of Surrey and Birmingham in the UK have recently examined microstructural changes to dentinal tubules ...

Analysis of ancient fossil teeth provides insight into breastfeeding habits

BRISTOL, UK: The importance of mother’s milk to an infant’s development is now well established. In a recent study, researchers analysed the fossilised ...

Study reveals impact of dry mouth on quality of life

LONDON, UK: Though the exact number of people who suffer from xerostomia is unclear, some studies estimate that as many as one in five of the population ...

New insight into control of dental treatment spray emission during SARS-CoV-2 pandemic

LONDON, UK: One of the greatest challenges for the dental profession in returning to normal business is the inherent risk of SARS-CoV-2 transmission via ...

EFP reveals stunning global cost of gingivitis, caries, tooth loss

BRUSSELS, Belgium: A white paper commissioned by the European Federation of Periodontology (EFP) has found that 4.9% of global healthcare expenditure goes ...

Consultant prosthodontist shares insight into the Socket-Shield Technique

The socket shield technique (SST) may be an alternative for a desirable aesthetic outcome in dental implant treatments. Consultant prosthodontist Dr Sanjay ...

Recruitment: An insight into the candidate screening

Have you ever applied for a job, but were not successful? Or perhaps you are just curious about what actually goes into candidate screening once you have ...

Interview: “Our purpose is to provide emotional first aid for dentists in distress”

Dentistry can be a stressful profession in which the importance of mental health is often overlooked, and the uncertainty about where to seek help can be ...

Less CHX—new generation of mouthwashes is changing therapy

KRIENS, Switzerland: Chlorhexidine digluconate (CHX) is considered the gold standard among oral antiseptics, but its use comes with a number of side ...

AI and ChatGPT: new study outlines role in shaping the future of dentistry

CHENGDU, China: ChatGPT is an artificial intelligence (AI)-powered language model, capable of generating human-like text based on context and past ...

Education

Live webinar
Mon. 29 April 2024
5:30 pm UTC (London)