Associations between tooth loss, prostheses and self‐reported oral health, general health, socioeconomic position and satisfaction with life

<jats:title>Abstract</jats:title><jats:sec><jats:title>Objectives</jats:title><jats:p>To investigate whether the location of tooth loss and prosthesis are associated with self‐reported oral health, general health, socioeconomic position and satisfaction with life.</jats:p></jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Methods</jats:title><jats:p>From the Copenhagen Aging and Midlife Biobank (CAMB) investigation, 1517 persons had their oral status ranked (full dentition, fixed prosthesis in the masticatory zone, tooth loss in the masticatory zone, fixed prosthesis in the aesthetic zone, removable prosthesis, tooth loss in the aesthetic zone). Self‐reported oral health, general health, socioeconomic position and satisfaction with life were obtained. Information on gender, normative socioeconomic position, frequency of seeing a dentist, acute dental treatment within the last 5 years and general diseases was also recorded.</jats:p></jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Results</jats:title><jats:p>Patients with tooth loss in the aesthetic zone and removable prosthesis showed high odds ratios for reporting poor rather than good oral health compared to patients having a full dentition. Having a removable prosthesis was further associated with rating socioeconomic position as low rather than high (odds ratio = 27.7 [95% CI: 5.07; 151.6]) compared to a full dentition after controlling for normative socioeconomic position and gender. In the bivariate analyses, a tendency towards poorer general health and poorer satisfaction with life was found with worse oral status, meanwhile the multiple regression analyses did not show significant associations between oral status and general health and satisfaction with life.</jats:p></jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Conclusions</jats:title><jats:p>Missing teeth and having prostheses are associated with worse self‐reported oral health compared to having a full dentition. Removable dental prosthesis may be associated with a worse self‐perception of socioeconomic status.</jats:p></jats:sec>