Psychological Effects of Missing Maxillary Anterior Teeth on Daily Life

Abstract

The orofacial region's appearance and functionality are crucial parts of human life that can be impacted by tooth loss and lower quality of life. The purpose of this study was to determine how anterior tooth loss affected patients' quality of life and dental satisfaction. Methods: 100 control subjects without missing teeth and 100 partly edentulous patients with missing anterior teeth were enrolled in the study. By age, gender, and educational attainment, the control participants were comparable to the patients. The impact of dental issues on daily life and dental satisfaction was evaluated using a dental impact on daily living questionnaire. Patients' daily activities, contentment with their looks, pain thresholds, dental comfort, overall performance, and eating abilities are all significantly impacted by tooth loss (p=0.000). The patients' overall satisfaction with their dentition and daily living was unaffected by their age or education level. Females, however, were less satisfied than males with their eating, general performance, and looks (p=0.003, 0.005, and 0.007, respectively). Patients' overall satisfaction (p=0.028) and their contentment with their look, dental comfort, general performance, and eating dimensions (p=0.001, 0.048, 0.011, and 0.009, respectively) all showed significant associations with the number of missing anterior teeth. Conclusion: Regardless of individual characteristics like age, gender, and educational level, tooth loss has a definite impact on patients' happiness with their dentition. The degrees of satisfaction with dentition and daily living decline as tooth loss increases.