Sex- and age-based differences in single tooth loss in adults

The aim of this study was to investigate sex- and age-based differences in single tooth loss in adults. The data were obtained from the results of a periodontal disease examination carried out under a health promotion law in a city in Japan in 2005. Baseline data from a total of 3,872 participants aged 40 or 60 years comprising 1,302 men and 2,570 women were available. Only participants with 27 present teeth were eligible for inclusion in the analysis, giving a total of 218 men and 428 women. Third molars were excluded from the study. The bilateral total of each type of tooth was obtained. The mandibular first molar was missing in 26.7% of the men and 36.2% of the women among 40-year-olds and 35.3% of the men and 29.8% of the women among 60-year-olds. The mandibular second molar was missing in 14.7% of the men and 12.5% of the women among 40-year-olds, and 17.6% of the men and 18.4% of the women among 60-year-olds. Significant differences were observed between men and women in the mandibular second premolars and first molars among 40-year-olds. These results suggest that we need to pay more attention to individual teeth which are at particularly high risk for tooth loss, namely the mandibular first and second molars, and especially the mandibular first molars in middle-aged women.