title: Social Determinants of Tooth Loss among a Group of Iranian Female Heads of Household.
abstract: Background and aims. Tooth loss may lead to mastication disability, which in turn has important impact on individual's quality of life. Social and psychological factors have been shown to be associated with tooth loss. This study aimed to investigate the social determinants and prevalence of tooth loss, and presence of functional dentition among female heads of household under support of Welfare Organization in Mashhad, Iran. Materials and methods. In current study 556 participants aged 16-76 years were recruited. Sociodemographic characteristics (age, level of education, family size, and monthly income) were collected using interviewer-led questionnaire. Data about number of teeth and functional dentition were obtained by oral examination. The data were analyzed using Chi-square, Kruskal-Wallis, T-test and binary logistic regression analysis. Results. Four percent of participants were edentulous. Tooth loss was significantly associated with level of education, age and family size (P < 0.001). There was no significant association between level of income and tooth loss (P = 0.88). Only 37.5% of dentate subjects had functional dentition (anterior and premolar teeth). Women older than 40 years were 0.63 times less likely to have functional dentition than those younger than 40 years. Females with at least a high-school diploma were six times more likely to have functional dentition than their illiterate counterparts. Conclusion. Social determinants of functional dentition should be taken into account when planning oral health promoting programs for female heads of household. For reducing oral health inequalities access to dental services should be facilitated.
authors.affiliation: Assistant Professor of Pediatric Dentistry, Dental Material Research Center, Department of Community Oral Health, School of Dentistry, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran.
authors.forename: Taraneh
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Movahhed
authors.affiliation: Assistant Professor of Pediatric Dentistry, Dental Material Research Center, Department of Community Oral Health, School of Dentistry, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran.
authors.forename: Behjatalmolook
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Ajami
authors.affiliation: Assistant Professor of Pediatric Dentistry, Dental Material Research Center, Department of Community Oral Health, School of Dentistry, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran.
authors.forename: Mojtaba
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Dorri
authors.affiliation: Assistant Professor of Pediatric Dentistry, Dental Material Research Center, Department of Community Oral Health, School of Dentistry, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran.
authors.forename: Nima
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Biouki
authors.affiliation: Assistant Professor of Pediatric Dentistry, Dental Material Research Center, Department of Community Oral Health, School of Dentistry, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran.
authors.forename: Hadi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Ghasemi
authors.affiliation: Assistant Professor of Pediatric Dentistry, Dental Material Research Center, Department of Community Oral Health, School of Dentistry, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran.
authors.forename: Mohammad Taghi
authors.initials: MT
authors.lastname: Shakeri
authors.affiliation: Assistant Professor of Pediatric Dentistry, Dental Material Research Center, Department of Community Oral Health, School of Dentistry, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran.
authors.forename: Mahboobe
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Dehghani
keywords: Dentition; female; head of household; single-parent family; tooth loss