Disparities in edentulism and tooth loss between Maori and non-Maori New Zealand women.

OBJECTIVES: Tooth loss and edentulism are important negative health outcomes; however, there is little current information about the prevalence of these conditions among adults in New Zealand (NZ). This study describes the dentate status of Maori and non-Maori NZ women with regard to tooth loss, edentulism and denture-wearing, and investigates ethnic and sociodemographic disparities within the sample. Associations between dentate status, socio-demographic and health-related factors are described. METHODS: Participants were 1,817 women who were screened for participation in a randomised controlled trial. RESULTS: 9.0% of women were edentulous and 30.3% wore a denture (partial or complete). The mean number of teeth present was 24.2, and older women had fewer teeth on average. Socio-demographic and ethnic disparities in tooth loss and edentulism were observed. Maori ethnicity was strongly associated with edentulism and tooth loss, with Maori women five times more likely than NZ European women to be edentulous. These associations held after controlling for age, education, smoking, diabetes, cardiovascular disease history, and BMI. CONCLUSIONS: Marked ethnic disparities in edentulism and tooth loss exist in New Zealand. Effective targeted programmes are needed to reduce the public health impact of poor oral health among Maori.

Maxillary tuberosities size and shape in African Blacks total edentulous.

The manufacturing of impression standardized trays adapted to Blacks total edentulous patients is necessary. This study in complement to previous ones quantified maillary tuberosity size and shape in a sample of Ivory Coast population a very melting pot example in Africa. Hundred maxillary complete edentulous casts issuing from impressions with Schreinemakers trays adjusted or not with thermoplastic materials. The two tuberosities for each cast were marked and measured. The mesiodistal, vestibulopalatal diameters and the vestibule heights measurements were computer-generated. Tubercles were not significantly different in the two sectors for the same cast. They were elliptical-shaped with the mesiodistal length superior to the vestibulopalatal width and they are higher than large. There was no statistical correlation between the data. These findings are independent from patients age and sex. Therefore it had been proposed three standardized impression trays prototypes adapted to African Blacks posterior palatal sector according to tuberosity size and shape. This specificity is relevant in prosthodontics since individualization of treatment leads to more effective treatment by working within the patient's arch from instead of making patients fit a single standard.

A radiographic analysis of the mandibular canal of the edentulous mandible in different racial and gender groups.

Studies on the mandibular canal in the edentulous mandible have rarely been correlated with mandibular canal position, mandibular body width, mandibular canal width, thickness of bony plates, gender and race. The aim of this investigation was to examine the above parameters by studying the bucco-lingual relationship of the mandibular canal in dry edentulous mandibles of Black and White, males and females (n = 13 in each group), of similar age (mean 58, 17 yrs). The mandibles were radiographed cross-sectionally. The position of the mandibular canal in relation to the buccal and lingual cortical plates, and the widths of the mandibular canal and mandibular body, measured at selected distances, were recorded and the values statistically analysed. Race and gender do not seem to influence the position of the mandibular canal in the bucco-lingual plane. The location of the canal is predominantly closer to the lingual cortex in the bucco-lingual plane. It was found that the widths of the left and right halves of the mandibular body are not statistically significantly different but widths of the left and right mandibular canal are significantly different.

Tooth retention and tooth loss in the permanent dentition of adults: United States, 1988-1991.

While the overall prevalence of tooth loss and edentulism has been declining in the United States over the past several decades, important variations remain among subgroups of the population. Data from Phase 1 of the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES III) provide the most current estimates of the prevalence and distribution of tooth retention and tooth loss in the United States. Weighted analyses were conducted for all adults 18+ years of age (n=8,366) and for selected age, gender, and race-ethnicity groups. In 1988-91, 89.5% of the population was dentate, and 30.5% had retained all 28 teeth. The mean number of teeth retained was 21.1 for all adults and 23.5 for dentate persons. The most commonly retained teeth in the mouth were the six anterior teeth in the lower arch. Conversely, 10.5% of the population was edentulous. Partial edentulism was much more common in the upper arch than in the lower arch. The most commonly missing teeth were the first and second molars. Age was strongly related to every measure of tooth retention and tooth loss. Gender was not related to any of these measures, after adjustment for age. Race-ethnicity was consistently related to these measures, after adjustment for age and gender. In general, Mexican-Americans had the lowest and black non-Hispanics the highest rates of tooth loss. Future research needs to examine a wide range of potential correlates of tooth retention and tooth loss before we can understand the complex interplay among the personal, dental, and environmental factors influencing tooth retention and tooth loss in the United States.