Study of emotional effects of tooth loss in an aging north Indian community.
A study was conducted to study the emotional effects of complete and partial loss of teeth in an aging North Indian community. A questionnaire was prepared for 400 elderly people above the age of 60 years, who were interviewed in dental checkup camps. The data was collected and analyzed using chi-square or chi-square exact tests. 25% of the people were found to have difficulty accepting tooth loss, whereas more than 50% of the people reported to have restricted their food choices. Other problems like reduced attendance in social gatherings for lunch/dinner or eating out in public were also noted. 56% felt that dental consultation prior to tooth loss would have helped them in a significant way. It was concluded that tooth loss did not have a marked impact on emotions of the people but affected their daily social activities, however there was negligible difference between complete and partial tooth loss subjects.
Department of Prosthodontics, Teerthanker Mahaveer Dental College and Research Center, Uttar Pradesh, Moradabad, India.
Amit Vinayak
AV
Naik
Ranjana C
RC
Pai