An Empirically Derived Model of Patient Attitudes toward Having a Shortened Dental Arch Condition

Aim: To explore attitudes of people with shortened dental arches toward absent posterior teeth and posterior tooth replacements. Methods: Participants were included after purposive sampling for a variety in age, gender, socioeconomic status, and for types of shortened dental arches with and without tooth replacement. Transcripts of face-to-face semi-structured interviews with open-ended questions were thematically analyzed using MAXQDA software. Results: After interviewing four females and five males (age ranging from 57 to 86 years), three main attitudes were identified: (1) neutral attitude resulting in ‘without restraint acceptance of absent posterior teeth', and negative attitudes in which (2) ‘resistance against having absent posterior teeth' prevailed, and (3) ‘resistance against (needing a) tooth replacement' prevailed. Main themes regarding ‘resistance against having absent posterior teeth' were functional discomfort ((assumed) functional problems) and emotional discomfort (feeling of not being intact). Reluctance to undergo treatment was an important reason to refuse tooth replacement resulting in secondary acceptance of absent posterior teeth. Main themes for ‘resistance against tooth replacement' were a feeling of being handicapped that was associated with (needing a) dental prostheses and reluctance of having a foreign body in the mouth. Wearing a dental prosthesis in spite of a negative attitude was considered as secondary acceptance of tooth replacement. Conclusion: In a conceptual model, three main attitudes toward the shortened dental arch condition were recognized resulting in direct or secondary acceptance of absent posterior teeth or demand for tooth replacement.