Remaining teeth in Finnish adults related to the frequency of tooth-brushing

Abstract

Abstract

The number of teeth remaining in adults was evaluated with specific reference to the frequency of tooth-brushing. The sample consisted of 5028 dentate subjects, representing the Finnish population aged 30 years and older. Their mean age was 47.5 years. The presence or absence of each individual tooth was recorded. A total of 91,332 teeth was registered. Forty-eight per cent of the women had retained no fewer than 21 teeth, 20% had 20-11 teeth, and 32% had 10-1 teeth. For men the percentages were 52%, 23%, and 25%, respectively. The number of a subject's remaining teeth was strongly related to the frequency of tooth-brushing (p < 0.001). The more frequent it had been, the more teeth the subjects, both women and men, had retained. This trend was also seen for the teeth in each jaw, and even for type of tooth. The trend was also present when the number of teeth was analyzed in accordance with a subject's income.