Does tooth loss have an emotional effect? A cross-sectional and comparative study on nondenture wearers and complete denture wearers

Teeth play various functional and esthetic roles. As any part of the body, even teeth loss gives one the feeling of being handicapped showing a negative impact on emotions. Sometimes, few people think that having 32 teeth and losing a few among them will not make a difference. Aim: To assess and compare the emotional effects due to loss of natural teeth in complete denture wearers and nondenture wearers. Materials and Methods: A hospital-based survey was conducted on complete denture wearers and nondenture wearers who were attending the outpatient department in a dental hospital for 2 months using a pretested, self-administered questionnaire. Results: Among them who were surveyed, 65.75% agreed accepting the tooth loss is difficult, only 30.13% felt that loss of teeth affected their self-confidence (P = 0.094), about 80.82% reported that natural teeth loss affected their eating efficiency, and 57.53% of them found it difficult while speaking to others. There was a significant difference between denture wearers and nondenture wearers when asked whether loss of teeth affected their looks, eating efficiency, and speaking difficulties (P = 0.000). Conclusion: Even though the majority of them found it difficult in accepting tooth loss, it did not affect their self-confidence majorly; however, most of them found functional difficulties with loss of natural teeth