The Association between Gender and Tooth Loss in A Small Rural Population of South Africa

Charlene W J Africa

doi:10.11648/j.sjcm.20130201.12

Abstract

Periodontal disease, which attacks the gums and supporting structures of the tooth, is one of the major causes of tooth loss in adults. Few studies on general well-being have compared the differences in oral health between men and women with studies from Europe and USA reporting that there are more edentulous women than men.Among the many factors contributing to tooth loss are poverty, availability and accessibility to dental and other health care as well as cultural traditions. This study examined a population living in a high fluoride area near Cape Town. This isolated community has until recently been unexposed to the diets and habits of the western world and have inter-married for decades. The results of this study indicated that although women had better oral hygiene habits than men, tooth loss was associated with age rather than gender.

Highlights

It is believed that the general health and well-being of a population may be reflected in the oral health status of its women [1].Poor oral health may lead to tooth loss and impair the systemic health of an individual
Several studies have suggested associations between tooth loss and health outcomes such poor quality of life and mortality in older individuals. Both dental caries and periodontal disease have been found to contribute to tooth loss at different ages, indicating a need for confounding risk factors to be identified.[40].Limited information is available associating gender with otherconfounding factors such as educational levels, oral hygiene practices and smoking status
Tooth loss has largely been associated with aging, menstruation, pregnancy, menopausal status, and living alone,while in men,tooth loss and higher periodontal scores have been associated with age, smoking and educational levels [41]Other studieshave found the above risk factors to be common in both genders[24],[42],[43] in rural populations[25], [41]

Summary

Introduction

It is believed that the general health and well-being of a population may be reflected in the oral health status of its women [1].Poor oral health may lead to tooth loss and impair the systemic health of an individual. Samples from a population residing in a remote rural area near Cape Town, South Africa, were examined by darkfield microscopy for bacterial morphotypes indicative of periodontal diseaseand were found to have a low prevalence of caries and mild “contained” gingivitis on clinical examination [36]. This was attributed to the high fluoride content (> 2ppm) of their water.Since gender was not factored into the analysis of the data generated from this earlier study, the objective of the present study was to re-examine their data and attempt to establish whether the risk for tooth loss due to periodontal diseasemay be gender- specific in this population

Objectives

Methods

Results

Conclusion