Edentulism Epidemiology and Oral Health Outcomes

Edentulism, defined as the complete loss of natural teeth, remains a major public health challenge worldwide. Its prevalence rises sharply with age and is closely tied to socioeconomic status, educational attainment and access to care. Beyond its direct impact on mastication and nutrition, edentulism is associated with systemic health outcomes, including poorer glycaemic control in diabetes, elevated cardiovascular risk and compromised mental well-being. The burden is particularly pronounced in low- and middle-income settings, where treatment options are limited and surveillance systems often neglect oral health. Trends in high-income countries show modest declines in total tooth loss, but these improvements mask persistent inequalities linked to gender, income and rural residency. Emerging data underscore the interplay of behavioural, structural and biological determinants, from patterns of tobacco use and dietary sugar intake to service-level factors such as availability of prosthodontic rehabilitation. Prevention strategies centre on common risk factor approaches that integrate oral health into broader non-communicable disease agendas, while innovations in community-based screening, risk prediction and patient-centred prosthetic solutions promise to mitigate the lifelong consequences of tooth loss.

Research from Nature Portfolio

Recent studies have quantified gender and educational disparities in edentulism among older adults, revealing that women with lower levels of schooling face an up to 28-fold greater risk of complete tooth loss compared to their male counterparts. This work highlights the combined influence of socioeconomic disadvantage and biological vulnerability in shaping oral health trajectories in ageing populations. Foundational global surveys have mapped age- and sex-standardised prevalence of total tooth loss across more than 50 countries, demonstrating dramatic variation—from under 1% in some regions to over 30% in others—and establishing links between edentulism, depression and poor self-rated health. These analyses underscore the need for integrated, cross-sectoral policies to address both the determinants and the wide-ranging sequelae of tooth loss.

Edentulism Epidemiology and Oral Health Outcomes publication trend

The graph below shows the total number of articles in edentulism epidemiology and oral health outcomes across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).

Technical terms

Edentulism: The complete absence of natural teeth in one or both jaws.

Prevalence: The proportion of individuals in a population who have a specific condition at a given time.

Functional dentition: Having a sufficient number of natural or prosthetic teeth (often defined as at least 20) to maintain adequate chewing function and aesthetics.

Prosthodontics: The dental specialty focused on restoring and replacing teeth with prostheses such as dentures, bridges and implants.

Non-communicable diseases (NCDs): Chronic medical conditions—such as diabetes and cardiovascular disease—not transmitted between individuals, which often share risk factors with oral diseases.

References

1. The Impact of Edentulism on Oral and General Health. International Journal of Dentistry (2013).
2. Common risk factors and edentulism in adults, aged 50 years and over, in China, Ghana, India and South Africa: results from the WHO Study on global AGEing and adult health (SAGE). BMC Oral Health (2016).
3. Edentulous disparities among geriatric population according to the sexual difference in South Korea: a nationwide population-based study. Scientific Reports (2023).
4. Population prevalence of edentulism and its association with depression and self-rated health. Scientific Reports (2016).
5. Knowledge, attitudes, and practice related to tooth loss and dentures among patients with dental arch deficiencies. BMC Public Health (2024).
6. Prevalence of and Changes in Tooth Loss Among Adults Aged ≥50 Years with Selected Chronic Conditions — United States, 1999–2004 and 2011–2016. MMWR Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (2020).
7. Risk factors for tooth loss in adults: A population-based prospective cohort study. PLOS ONE (2019).