Thread: Toothless study finds...

ATLANTA, Georgia (Reuters) -- There was nothing for the older folk of Appalachia to smile about after the government released its latest study of toothlessness among the elderly, which found the region leading the nation in tooth-loss.

Kentucky and West Virginia have the highest percentage of older adults missing all their natural teeth according to data collected in 2002 by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Slightly more than 42 percent of residents 65 and older in Kentucky could make that dubious claim last year. West Virginians were a close second with 41.9 percent of seniors admitting they had shed their natural choppers.

In both states, older adults who were naturally toothless outnumbered those who could say they had lost five or fewer of their natural teeth.

Although the study did not focus on the root causes of toothlessness in the states, researchers said they suspected a combination of economic, cultural and medical factors were responsible for wide variances in state results.

"We would imagine it probably reflects the impact of health behaviors such as smoking and oral hygiene practices and also socio-economic status in terms of income and education," said Dr. Barbara Gooch, a CDC dental officer and the study's lead author.

Western states tended to score much better on the tooth retention scale last year. Utah was tops with almost 64 percent of seniors living with most of their natural teeth, while about 60 percent in California and Colorado could say the same.

Overall, more than half of older adults in 26 states had most of their natural teeth last year, a finding in line with past survey that have noted a substantial drop in older adult toothlessness since the 1950s.

Researchers said the current crop of American seniors had likely benefited from the fluoridation of water, advancements in dental care and other oral hygiene measures introduced in the past 50 years.

But they also said that increased tooth retention meant that many would remain at risk for tooth decay and periodontal disease, highlighting a need for community-based programs that stressed healthy dental care.

If you want to see where your state ranks
go here it'll be on your right under Related.

Just adds more fuel to the fire for people to make fun of the people that live in those states

I think allot of the reason has to do with cost. I can't count the times I've heard people say they didn't have the money to get a crown or root canal so they just had the tooth yanked. My father even pulled one himself not to long ago with some pliers because his dentist was going to charge $150.00 to do it. So dad did it himself. The dentist was trying to talk dad into a root canal and my dad didn't want to spend the huge amount of money. Can't say as I blame him for not wanting to pay. My father is retired and was self employed so he has no dental insurance.

I have a full set of false teeth. I am not elderly though (in my early 30's) but I have struggled for so long with bad teeth and gum disease, it was literally cheaper to have them all pulled. When I went in a few years ago to have some work done, it was going to cost me a little over $2500... having them all pulled and getting new ones cost me about $1700 and I don't have to keep going back for different things (crowns etc). I don't think its something for everyone, but I certainly have no regrets. I was spending approximately $4500 per year in procedures and regular visits.. now I just pop em in and go LOL