Aarhus researcher receives award: Inequality can cost people their teeth

People with diabetes are more likely to have lost all their natural teeth than people without diabetes. The association is particularly pronounced among people with lower income or lower education.

This is shown by a new study involving 557,316 adults from Denmark and Sweden, conducted in collaboration with Steno Diabetes Center Aarhus.

In the Danish part of the study, 1.9 percent of people without diabetes had lost all their teeth, compared with 4.3 percent of people with type 2 diabetes. Complete tooth loss was also four to five times more common among people with lower income and lower education than among more socioeconomically advantaged groups.

Fernando Valentim Bitencourt has received an Outstanding Postgraduate Student Award from the International Association for Dental Research (IADR) for his work on the study. IADR awards the prize on the basis of the quality, relevance and potential impact of the research.

According to the researcher, the study strengthens the understanding of oral health as an integral part of general health. In the longer term, its findings are intended to contribute to better prevention and treatment for people with diabetes.

“The award is a major recognition of our research and motivates me to continue working to ensure that people with diabetes can retain their natural teeth throughout their lives, regardless of their social background,” says Fernando Valentim Bitencourt.

Contact

Postdoc Fernando Valentim Bitencourt
Aarhus University, Department of Dentistry and Oral Health and
Aarhus University Hospital, Steno Diabetes Center Aarhus
Email: fvbitencourt@dent.au.dk