Objective Social isolation and loneliness have been linked to numerous determinants of health and well‐being. However, the effects of social isolation and loneliness on oral health remain unclear. The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of social isolation and loneliness on the number of remaining teeth and the rate of tooth loss over time among Chinese older adults. Methods We used three waves of data (2011/2012, 2014 and 2018) from the Chinese Longitudinal Healthy Longevity Survey with 4268 older adults aged 65 and older who were interviewed in at least two waves. The number of remaining teeth was first evaluated at baseline and then subsequently at follow‐up visits. Mixed‐effects Poisson regression was used to examine the associations between social isolation, loneliness, and both the number of remaining teeth and the rate of tooth loss. Results Social isolation was associated with fewer remaining teeth (β = −.06, 95% CI = −0.13 to 0.00, p < .05) and accelerated tooth loss (β = −.02, 95% CI = −0.02 to −0.01, p < .01) after adjusting for sociodemographic covariates, lifestyle and oral hygiene behaviours, physical and cognitive health, and loneliness. Loneliness was neither associated with the number of remaining teeth (β = .15, 95% CI = −0.01 to 0.30, p = .06) nor with the rate of tooth loss (β = −.01, 95% CI = −0.02 to 0.00, p = .16) after adjusting for all other factors. Conclusions This study provides strong evidence that social isolation was associated with fewer remaining teeth and accelerated tooth loss among Chinese older adults. These findings expand our knowledge about the impact of social disconnection on tooth loss. More future studies are needed to further examine the associations between social connections and oral conditions using longitudinal cohort studies and intervention studies.

Objectives Social isolation imposes risks to an individual's psychological well‐being. However, few studies have examined the role of resilience on these associations among older Chinese Americans, the fastest‐growing aging population across all racial/ethnic groups in the United States. We aim to examine the associations of social isolation with indicators of psychological well‐being and the mediating role of resilience in these associations. Methods Data were derived from 398 Chinese older adults aged over 55 residing in Honolulu, Hawaii, in 2018. Psychological well‐being was measured by psychological distress, life satisfaction, and happiness. Multivariate linear regressions and ordered logistic regressions were conducted. Results Social isolation was positively associated with psychological distress and negatively associated with life satisfaction and happiness (all p < 0.05). By contrast, resilience was associated with lower levels of psychological distress and higher levels of life satisfaction and happiness (all p < 0.05). Moreover, the findings supported our hypothesis that resilience mediated the association between social isolation and psychological well‐being. With regard to social isolation, resilience contributed to 32.0% of its association with distress, 24.9% of the association with life satisfaction, and 16.3% of the association with happiness. Conclusion Our findings revealed a significant association between social isolation and psychological well‐being and the mediating role of resilience in the association of older Chinese Americans in Hawaii. The study findings expand our understanding of psychological resources in older Chinese Americans and emphasize the importance of developing intervention programs to foster social connection and resilience among an understudied population.

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