Purpose
This study aimed to investigate the effects of trauma-related tooth loss before age 18 years on adolescents and young adults.
Materials and Methods
Ninety-three patients with permanent incisor loss due to traumatic dental injury (TDI) completed a newly developed pilot, TDI-specific questionnaire evaluating their experiences following the loss of a permanent incisor. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze responses, and multiple linear regression was used to examine the effects of age and sex.
Results
Patient-reported outcome measures indicated that 74.2% of the respondents reported an impact of tooth loss on their appearance. The mean score for perceived esthetic impact was 3.62 on a 0–10 scale. Despite treatment completion, 78.5% of patients reported recurring thoughts regarding their tooth loss, and 81.7% indicated that, to varying degrees, their tooth loss imposed limitations on their social interactions. Dissatisfaction with temporary tooth replacements was reported by several patients. Among the 93 patients, 58 (62.3%) had received their permanent tooth placement and expressed very high satisfaction with this solution (mean score: 9.05 on a 0–10 scale). Overall, 92.5% of the participants reported satisfaction with the communication during the treatment. Sex significantly affected the patient responses regarding esthetic appearance and satisfaction with the course of treatment.
Conclusion
This patient-reported outcome-based study indicates that trauma-related tooth loss occurring at a young age adversely affects the oral health-related quality of life of adolescents and young adults, even after treatment completion, thereby impacting their overall quality of life.
Josephine Solgaard Henriksen, Eva Lauridsen, Simon Storgård Jensen, Nuno Vibe Hermann
Disease Category: Child health, Dentistry & oral health
Disease Name: Traumatic dental injury
Age Range: 0 - 18
Sex: Either
Nature of Intervention: Surgery
- Consumers (patients)
- Patient perspectives
- Survey