Influence of Tooth Loss and Unmet Treatment Needs on the Social Aspects of Quality of Life and Self-esteem in Adolescents

Adolescence represents specific period of life and development, when young person is going through physical, emotional and mental changes, risking poor general and oral health outcome that might affect quality of life. Negative effects of poor oral health are various: difficulties with speaking and eating, pain and malfunction. This might cause emotional and mental problems, leading to avoidance of speaking, smiling and socializing with friends. Cross-sectional study included 234 participants (15-16 years old). The research instruments used in the study were questionnaire and clinical examination. Questionnaire referred to socio-demographic characteristics of participants, their oral and general health related habits, self-evaluation of confidence and successfulness and effect of oral impacts on daily performances. Clinical examination was used to determine dental status in terms of tooth loss, need for prosthodontic rehabilitation and presence of dental malocclusion. Results: 24.6% (58) of adolescents had at least one tooth missing. Significant difference between the genders was obtained, as 32.5% girls had at least one tooth extracted compared to 8.1% of boys. Normative need for prosthodontic rehabilitation was present in 22.0% of subjects. Dental problems negatively affected their sleep and emotions (14.4% and 10.2% few times in period of one month). Data analyses pointed one correlation between extracted teeth and psychosocial aspect of participants' life (difficulties and embarrassment when smiling, talking and spending time with friends, emotional problems). Unmet normative need for prosthodonic or orthodontic treatment affected participants' ability to sleep and relax. Percentage of adolescents with extracted teeth was high, as well as normative treatment need for prosthodontic rehabilitation. Poor dental status affected quality of life of adolescents, especially emotional and mental well-being. Dental service should provide sufficient information to adolescents about prevention of tooth loss and consequences of teeth extraction, not only within masticatory function but also concerning oral health related quality of life.