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.