The role of welfare regimes on socioeconomic inequalities in edentulism: a cross-national analysis of 40 countries.

ABSTRACT:

Background

We aim to evaluate the association between welfare regimes and edentulism (total tooth loss) and to investigate whether welfare regimes modify the magnitude of socioeconomic inequalities in edentulism.

Methods

The Lancet Commission on Oral Health gathered and analysed nationally representative available data from 40 high, middle- and low-income countries, collected between 2007 and 2018. The study included 117,397 individuals 20 years or older. The outcome was edentulism, defined as the absence of all natural teeth. We categorised countries into seven welfare regimes, which served as both the primary exposure and an effect modifier. Individual-level variables included sex, age and a composite measure of socioeconomic position: "wealth" measured in quintiles. Inver

SUBMITTER: Celeste RK 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12803848 | biostudies-literature | 2026 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature