Prevalence of toothache in Chinese adults aged 65 years and above

Abstract

Toothache is a common consequence of dental problems such as dental caries, periodontitis and pericoronitis. It is a phenomenon commonly characterized as a major source of impairment in almost all aspects of human quality of life, specifically disturbing sleep, social interactions, performance of daily tasks and influencing careseeking behaviour. 1,2 Previous studies reported that the prevalence of toothache ranged from 1.3% to 87.8% in different countries and populations. 3 With regards to related factors, previous study showed that younger age and lower socioeconomic status, including household income and mother's education 4 were the factors most consistently associated with higher likelihood to get toothache. 5,6 Worse oral status, snacks consumption, 7 dental treatments, 8 with untreated decayed teeth, 9 anxiety, stress, 10 depression 11 and homeless, 12 were also found to be associated to toothache.

Orofacial pain among Chinese older adults in the last year of life

“…Having adequate financial support was associated with lower odds of toothache, and receiving adequate medical treatment when sick was associated with lower odds of jaw or facial pain. The findings are consistent with previous studies that adults with lower socioeconomic status were more likely to have orofacial pain 15‐17 . Given the relatively low dental care utilisation and unavailability of palliative care for most older adults in China, it is highly possible that most older adults in the last year of life lack sufficient management for orofacial pain.…”

“…Older adults who smoked in the last year of life were more likely to have toothache than those who did not smoke. Previous findings have shown that smoking was related to a higher likelihood of reporting toothache 17‐19 . This may be due to an accumulated effect of dental plaque, modified saliva by tobacco, impaired wound healing and exposure of root surfaces resulting from periodontitis 33 .…”

“…Given the relatively low dental care utilisation and unavailability of palliative care for most older adults in China, it is highly possible that most older adults in the last year of life lack sufficient management for orofacial pain. Strong evidence shows that older adults with lower socioeconomic status are more likely to have lower dental care utilisation and poorer oral health than those with higher socioeconomic status in China 17,28,29 . Old adults in China, by large, accept or adapt to the orofacial pain as part of their lives and would delay or avoid seeking professional treatments until it becomes very severe 30,31 .…”

“…With regard to related factors, recent studies indicate that lower socioeconomic status 15‐17 and unhealthy behaviors, including smoking and lower frequency of teeth brushing, 17‐19 were the factors most consistently related to higher likelihood of having orofacial pain symptoms. Chronic health conditions and number of remaining teeth were also found to be associated with higher likelihood of having orofacial pain symptoms such as toothache 17 …”

Toothache experiences

“…A toothache is a public health problem because of its high prevalence and impacts among all age groups [1][2][3] . It is often mentioned as the most frequent type of orofacial pain 4 and one of the major consequences of dental and oral health problems among children 5,6 .…”