title: Use of the Internet as a research method in a study of the emotional effects of tooth loss in Poland.
abstract: The study explored the use of the Internet to investigate the emotional effects of tooth loss in a Polish population. The Internet was used as a novel method of recruiting study participants. The study was announced on Internet pages in the Polish language inviting anyone who had lost some natural teeth to respond. Respondents were sent a questionnaire by e-mail, which they completed and returned by the same means. Twenty nine completed questionnaires were received in a twelve month period. The respondents were predominantly males under the age of 50 years reflecting the profile of Internet users in Poland. Despite the sample bias, the results showed a trend similar to the findings of earlier studies into the emotional effects of tooth loss with many of the respondents reporting difficulty in coming to terms with the loss of some or all their natural teeth.
authors.affiliation: GKT Dental Institute, Department of Prosthetic Dentistry, Floor 20, Guy's Tower, London SE1 9RT, UK. peter.r.likeman@kcl.ac.uk
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Likeman
authors.forename: Janice
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Fiske
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Davis
mesh_terms: D000786:Anger; D001294:Attitude to Health; D003195:Computer Communication Networks; D003824:Denture, Complete / Q000523:psychology; D003829:Denture, Partial / Q000523:psychology; D004435:Eating; D004644:Emotions; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D020407:Internet; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D007575:Jaw, Edentulous / Q000523:psychology; D007576:Jaw, Edentulous, Partially / Q000523:psychology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D018579:Patient Selection; D011044:Poland; D012107:Research Design; D015983:Selection Bias; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D016388:Tooth Loss / Q000523:psychology*