Tooth life expectancy and burden of tooth loss: Two cross-sectional studies in Taiwan

Life expectancy (LE) is a hypothetical measure to predict life longevity and the indicator of society's overall health. Tooth loss is a worldwide enigma; however, the LE for tooth (LET) are obscure. LET and the burden of tooth loss in Taiwan were estimated using the scheme of National Health Insurance (NHI).

Using NHI data, mortality rate, age-specific mortality rate, tooth-extraction rate, and age-specific tooth-extraction rate (ASTER) of Taiwanese in 2004 and 2013 were estimated. ASTER for the individual tooth (ASTER-T) was analyzed for each of 28 permanent teeth according to ID code and tooth location. LET and years lived with disability for tooth loss (YLDs-T) of each permanent tooth were estimated following Global Burden Disease study.

In 2004, 1,741,228 teeth extracted from 1,078,254 patients among 22,646,835 Taiwanese, whereas 2,012,907 teeth extracted from 1,254,746 patients among 23,344,670 in 2013. In both years, the ASTERs presented an increasing trend as age increased. However, the ASTER-Ts presented varied according to tooth types. The LET and YLDs-T were also varied. The maximum values of YLDs-T were noticed for the first molars.

Our findings of this national survey highlight the need for public health policy, particular the early loss of first molars, aiming to increase awareness regarding oral health.