The Study
Assessment of dental pain and its association with dental anxiety and oral health-related quality of life
This study found that people who had tooth pain also tended to say their daily life was harder — like eating or talking with friends. But it doesn’t prove that the pain caused those problems — maybe people with harder lives also get more pain, or something else is going on.
Analysis score
Maximum 44 for a cross-sectional study.
Where the score came from
When your tooth hurts, it doesn't just hurt—it makes it harder to eat, talk, and hang out with friends, and it also makes you more scared of the dentist.
Where does this study sit?
Reviews of RCTs (Meta-analyses)
Max 100Randomized Trials
Max 90Reviews of Cohort Studies
Max 85Cohort Studies
Max 72Reviews of Case-Control Studies
Max 63Case-Control Studies
Max 58Cross-Sectional & Case Series
Max 50Expert Opinion
Max 544 / 100
Quality score
Snapshots of a population at a single point in time, or descriptions of small groups. Can identify correlations and prevalence, but cannot determine cause and effect.
Key takeaways
Summary
Based on the study abstract and findings.
- 1Yes—this means tooth pain doesn't just hurt, it seriously affects daily life and mental well-being.
- 2People with tooth pain were 6 times more likely to have trouble eating or socializing; they had 9.3% higher anxiety scores; having cavities made trouble 48% more likely.
Score breakdown, methodology, conflicts of interest, evidence analysis & raw study data
Publication
Journal
Acta Odontologica Scandinavica
Year
2026
Authors
Azhar Iqbal, O. Khattak, Y. D. Siddiqui, N. Hassan, Rital Jamal Alwaqid, Shahzad Ahmad, M. A. Fareed, M. Anwar, R. Issrani
Related Content
Claims (5)
People who have more tooth pain are much more likely to have trouble eating, talking, or hanging out with friends because their pain gets in the way of daily life.
People with decayed teeth are much more likely to have trouble with everyday activities like eating, smiling, or talking—even if their teeth don’t hurt—because the decay itself is making their life harder.
People who have tooth pain tend to feel much more scared or nervous about going to the dentist than people who don’t have pain.
Whether you're male or female, young or old, or have more or less education doesn't seem to change how much dental pain affects your daily life — everyone feels about the same impact.
When your teeth hurt, it doesn’t just make chewing painful—it can also stop you from eating normally or hanging out with friends, which means the pain affects your whole life, not just your mouth.
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional before making health decisions.