A new resource is helping raise awareness about oral health among people with upper-limb loss or difference. The patient-facing booklet, “Looking After Your Teeth: An Evidence-Based Guide for Those With Upper Limb Difference,” was developed in response to a study showing that 86 percent of adults with unilateral upper-limb absence used their teeth during everyday activities, 43 percent reported chipped or damaged teeth, and 97 percent reported never receiving guidance about the potential oral health risks associated with using their teeth as a tool.
The research also indicated that being a prothesis user did not prevent chipped or damaged teeth.
The resource was developed with clinicians, educators, and people with lived experience to encourage informed decision-making, improve health literacy, and support conversations about safer strategies for everyday tasks. The first author of the resource and the related study, Claire Parkin, PhD, associate professor of medical education, Kent and Medway Medical School, United Kingdom, has an upper-limb difference.
The open-access study, “Use of teeth as a compensatory strategy in unilateral upper limb amputation: A global descriptive case study,” was published in Disability and Rehabilitation.
To access the resource, visit the University of Kent Journal Publishing Press.
