Rapid tooth loss linked to higher risk of death in older people

In older adults, tooth loss may be linked to serious health risks. A team of Chinese researchers analyzed data from 8,073 older participants and found that people who lost their teeth more quickly had a higher risk of dying, regardless of how many teeth they started with.

The researchers emphasize the need to closely monitor the progression of tooth loss among older adults, as it is an important indicator of broader physiological decline.

Modifiable habits like regular brushing, avoiding smoking, and routine dental checkups play a key role in how quickly teeth are lost. Studies show that consistent oral care can lower mortality rates among older adults with missing teeth. Making oral health a stronger focus of public health efforts could be an easy way to improve overall well-being, suggests the study published in BMC Geriatrics.

Old age or not, oral health is a major problem in humans across the globe. In 2022, the World Health Organization released a “Global Oral Health Status Report,” which showed that almost half of the world’s population (~3.5 billion people) has some form of dental disease. It highlighted tooth loss as one of the most common problems.

While losing teeth with age is often inevitable, its impact can be far-reaching. It not only affects quality of life by making it harder to chew and enjoy food, but has also been linked to higher death rates—not just overall mortality, but from specific causes like heart disease, lung cancer, and pneumonia.

Most studies examining the association between faster tooth loss and the risk of death have focused on measuring tooth count at a single time point, without accounting for changes over time. This study is the first to comprehensively assess the association between loss of teeth over time and mortality in a large cohort of older adults.

Over 3.5 years, the team studied 8,073 older adults aged 73 to 91. They tracked how quickly participants lost teeth over time, measuring this as the average number of teeth lost per year. Based on the tooth loss pattern, the participants were divided into four groups: stable (no teeth lost per year), slow loss (more than zero but less than two teeth lost per year), moderate loss (two to under four teeth lost per year), and rapid loss (4 or more teeth lost per year).

The data were then entered into a Cox regression analysis—a statistical method that accounts for the relative risk of an event—to determine whether faster tooth loss was associated with a higher mortality risk. They found that those with rapid tooth loss had a 33% higher risk of death compared to those who lost none. Also, with each tooth lost per year, the risk increases by 4%.

The researchers note that further investigation into the mechanisms underlying this relationship is needed to develop effective interventions. Until then, raising awareness of the hidden health risks of rapid tooth loss among both health care professionals and the public could go a long way toward encouraging habit modification.

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