Dental impacts on daily life and satisfaction with teeth in relation to dental status in adults

Abstract

The aim of this study was to investigate whether older people having missing posterior teeth had few impacts and considered their teeth and mouth acceptable. The main objective was to assess the relationship between satisfaction with teeth and mouth, and the number, position and condition of the natural teeth. The sample was an employed unrepresentative population most of whom were in daily contact with the public. There was a very poor association between reported satisfaction with teeth and the number of standing teeth. There was little difference in satisfaction with dental and mouth status and the number of functional posterior occluding pairs (POPs). Satisfaction with the number and position of the functional POPs was not statistically significantly different in those with more or less than four POPs. However, there was slightly more satisfaction with teeth in the group with more than four POPs. Overall, those with more molar and premolar pairs were most satisfied with their teeth.