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ADELAIDE, Australia: The findings of a recently published study indicate that tooth loss does not necessarily interfere with a patient’s quality of life provided he or she still has a certain number and type of teeth. These findings may have important implications for the public dental health system in allocating dental prostheses. Scientists estimate that about 434,000 Australians who would be considered for dentures currently may not really need them.
In the study, researchers at the University of Adelaide looked at data from 2,750 dentate individuals including patients with shortened dental arches to determine whether their dental condition impaired their oral health-related quality of life compared with those with more teeth.
Overall, the researchers found that shortened dental arches are not associated with negative impacts on quality of life. For example, they observed no significant difference in oral health-related quality of life between patients who had intact anterior teeth, four occlusal units and no dental prosthesis and those with intact anterior teeth, over four occlusal units and no dental prosthesis.
“For years, it has been taken for granted that if people experience tooth loss, they will need dentures, bridges, implants or other corrective processes to replace the missing tooth,” said lead author Dr Haiping Tan, a lecturer at the university’s School of Dentistry. However, the study showed that this is highly dependent on the position and number of teeth that have been lost. “It’s about getting the right balance of biting and cutting teeth at the front of the mouth with enough of the chewing teeth at the back.”
Study co-author Prof. Marco Peres, who lectures at the same school, said: “For the public health sector, this work raises the question of how to allocate resources, especially if many people are currently receiving dentures or other corrective procedures when they may not need to do so. These resources could instead be allocated to the prevention of further tooth loss, diagnostic services and follow up for the patient, rather than prosthetic procedures.”
The study, titled “Do people with shortened dental arches have worse oral health-related quality of life than those with more natural teeth? A population-based study”, was published online on 26 September in the Community Dentistry and Oral Epidemiology journal.
