The effects of dental disease on the population are difficult to describe to the lay public in terms which that public will appreciate. An attempt has been made to quantify the impairment of the quality of life which results from uncontrolled dental disease. Studies indicated that each person could have three to four days of dental pain a year which could be equivalent to 200 million days of toothache per year in the United Kingdom. Only 15 per cent of those who had toothache did seek dental advice for it. This represented a waste and an impairment in the quality of life. It is proposed that estimates of days of dental pain could prove an index of the quality of life of a population.
牙科疾病对民众的影响，很难用普通大众能理解的方式向他们描述清楚。有人曾尝试对因未得到控制的牙科疾病而导致的生活质量受损情况进行量化。研究表明，每人每年可能会有三到四天的牙痛，这相当于英国每年有两亿天的牙痛。有牙痛症状的人当中，只有15%的人为此寻求过牙科建议。这既造成了浪费，也损害了生活质量。有人提议，对牙痛天数的估计可成为衡量民众生活质量的一项指标。
