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‘Your whole life is lived through your teeth’: biographical disruption and experiences of tooth loss and replacement

‘Your whole life is lived through your teeth’: biographical disruption and experiences of tooth loss and replacement
‘Your whole life is lived through your teeth’: biographical disruption and experiences of tooth loss and replacement
The experience and meaning of tooth loss and replacement has varied historically and culturally but has received relatively little attention from social scientists. Our study set out to understand these experiences in the context of the arrival of newer, dental implant treatments. Semi-structured qualitative interviews were carried out with 39 men and women who had experienced tooth loss and replacement. A thematic analysis was sensitised by previous sociological work on chronic illness, particularly Bury's notion of biographical disruption. We found that while for some individuals the loss of a tooth was relatively insignificant, for others it was devastating and disruptive. In seeking to understand this difference, the concept of biographical disruption was a helpful analytical tool. Our analysis identified two forms of disruption. The first related to the meanings of tooth loss (the neglected mouth) and denture wearing (a marker of old age). The second, embodied, disruption concerned the relationship between the self and mouth in those wearing dentures (the invaded, unreliable mouth) and could occur even where tooth loss and denture wearing had been biographically anticipated.
oral health, experiences of illness, tooth loss, UK, qualitative research
0141-9889
462-476
Rousseau, Nikki
4ca285a5-911a-4f74-908f-a5f82bf45c18
Steele, Jimmy
043e6465-e20a-4bf3-b23f-ac06a62d3713
May, Carl
17697f8d-98f6-40d3-9cc0-022f04009ae4
Exley, Catherine
a6d075cf-6d08-4f74-98fa-526558eb1299
Rousseau, Nikki
4ca285a5-911a-4f74-908f-a5f82bf45c18
Steele, Jimmy
043e6465-e20a-4bf3-b23f-ac06a62d3713
May, Carl
17697f8d-98f6-40d3-9cc0-022f04009ae4
Exley, Catherine
a6d075cf-6d08-4f74-98fa-526558eb1299

Rousseau, Nikki, Steele, Jimmy, May, Carl and Exley, Catherine (2014) ‘Your whole life is lived through your teeth’: biographical disruption and experiences of tooth loss and replacement. Sociology of Health & Illness, 36 (3), 462-476. (doi:10.1111/1467-9566.12080). (PMID:24720855)

Record type: Article

Abstract

The experience and meaning of tooth loss and replacement has varied historically and culturally but has received relatively little attention from social scientists. Our study set out to understand these experiences in the context of the arrival of newer, dental implant treatments. Semi-structured qualitative interviews were carried out with 39 men and women who had experienced tooth loss and replacement. A thematic analysis was sensitised by previous sociological work on chronic illness, particularly Bury's notion of biographical disruption. We found that while for some individuals the loss of a tooth was relatively insignificant, for others it was devastating and disruptive. In seeking to understand this difference, the concept of biographical disruption was a helpful analytical tool. Our analysis identified two forms of disruption. The first related to the meanings of tooth loss (the neglected mouth) and denture wearing (a marker of old age). The second, embodied, disruption concerned the relationship between the self and mouth in those wearing dentures (the invaded, unreliable mouth) and could occur even where tooth loss and denture wearing had been biographically anticipated.

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e-pub ahead of print date: 28 October 2013
Published date: March 2014
Keywords: oral health, experiences of illness, tooth loss, UK, qualitative research
Organisations: Faculty of Health Sciences

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 383937
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/383937
ISSN: 0141-9889
PURE UUID: 5b89e585-5601-4178-a48c-71e6661ec610
ORCID for Carl May: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0002-0451-2690

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Date deposited: 01 Dec 2015 10:08
Last modified: 14 Mar 2024 21:50

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Contributors

Author: Nikki Rousseau
Author: Jimmy Steele
Author: Carl May ORCID iD
Author: Catherine Exley

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