One in five Romanians have lost all their natural teeth

A total of 70% of Romanians don’t have all their natural teeth anymore, while 30% of these (21% of the total) have lost all their natural teeth, according to a statistics cited by the Society of Esthetic Dentistry in Romania. Romanians’ poor oral health is caused by economic, social and educational factors, according to representatives of the association, quoted by local Ziarul Financiar, The statistics also reveals that 83% of the six-year-olds have their teeth affected by cavities, the percentage going up to 94% by the age of 18. Over 30% of Romanians fail to feed normally due to mastication problems caused by poor teeth. In Romania, a dentist has, on average, 1,725 patients. In comparison, in Norway, a dentist’s average number of patients is 833. The statistics also show that the number of dental professionals is alarmingly low in Romania: 100 dental hygienists, 6,000 nurses, 6,000 dental technicians, 157 specialists in oral surgery, 412 specialists in orthodontics and over 230 specialists in maxillofacial surgery. The Society of Esthetic Dentistry in Romania will open 10 dental clinics in the following 12 months, as part of the DENS - Developing social economy program, to try solving some of these problems, reports Ziarul Financiar. Irina Popescu, irina.popescu@romania-insider.com