Children who are missing teeth because of injury or decay may be almost twice as likely to be bullied by their peers, according to a news article recently published by The University of Sydney in Australia.
Approximately 1 in 10 children in Australia have lost teeth resulting from trauma or dental caries, but children from economically disadvantaged backgrounds are more likely to experience tooth loss, and the results can be psychologically devastating for victims.
Approximately 42% of adolescents who have lost teeth are more likely to be bullied, according to the article and based on a study recently published in JDR Clinical and Translational Research.
“Our findings substantiate the marked negative impacts of poor oral health, tooth loss in particular, on the social development of adolescents that can be caused by associated bullying and victimization,” wrote the study’s lead author, Ankur Singh, chair of lifespan and oral health at the University of Sydney School of Dentistry (JDR Clin Trans Res, August 17, 2025.)
The study analyzed data from 4,400 children and adolescents from The Longitudinal Study of Australian Children. Bullying was assessed via a questionnaire submitted to parents in which they were asked, “In the last 12 months, has your child been bullied at school?”
Children ages 10 to 15 were 1.33 times more likely to be victimized by bullying (95% CI, 0.97 to 1.81), the researchers wrote. The researchers used a time-lagged model to ensure that tooth loss preceded the bullying, and dental restorations were used as a negative control to validate the findings. No significant association (odds ratio, 1.09; 95% confidence interval, 0.94 to 1.27) was observed, reinforcing that the bullying was specific to tooth loss.
“Tooth loss isn’t only a dental issue, it’s a social one too. For teenagers, it can have significant psychological impacts at a crucial time in their development,” Singh said in the news article. Those effects don’t end in adolescence and carry through to adulthood with serious consequences.
“Furthermore, bullying and victimization are well-established risk factors of poor mental health. Given the observed association between tooth loss and bullying, this study indicates a potential mediation pathway from tooth loss to mental health, mediated by bullying.”
Singh and his team believe the study’s findings highlight the need for measures to prevent tooth loss in young people resulting from injury or decay.
“… It is crucial to address the social and environmental determinants that lead to dental caries and traumatic dental injuries,” Singh and colleagues wrote.
