Smoking and drinking as risk indicators for tooth loss in middle-aged Danes.

OBJECTIVES

To investigate tobacco and alcohol consumption as risk indicators for missing teeth in late middle-aged Danes.

METHOD

In all, 1,517 Copenhagen Aging and Midlife Biobank (CAMB) participants received a clinical oral examination that included number of teeth. Information on smoking, drinking, and various covariates was obtained using self-administered, structured questionnaires. Descriptive statistics and logistic regression (dependent variable: 6+ vs. <6 missing teeth) were used to investigate smoking and drinking in relation to missing teeth.

RESULTS

Current smokers, persons who currently or previously smoked >15 tobacco units/day, and persons who had smoked for 27+ years had elevated mean scores of missing teeth and associated odds ratios (OR) compared with never smokers. Relative to nondrinkers, alcohol consumption was associated with reduced odds of missing 6+ teeth.

DISCUSSION

Our findings suggest that smoking is positively associated, while alcoholic beverage consumption is inversely related to tooth loss in middle-aged Danes.