Method: The analyses relied on data from waves 1 to 3 of the Survey of Health, Ageing, and Retirement in Europe (SHARE) and include information on chewing ability and the life history of persons from 13 European countries who are currently aged 50 years or greater (countries include Austria, Poland, Spain, Italy, the Netherlands, Belgium, Greece, the Czech Republic, France, Denmark, Switzerland, Germany, and Sweden). A series of logistic regression models was estimated with sequential inclusion of explanatory variables which are representative of living conditions in childhood and thereafter.
Result: Regular dental attendance in childhood, socioeconomic background during early life years, running water supply in the childhood‘s household as well as cognitive skills in early life years are significant predictors of chewing ability at age 50+. These associations hold robust even when controlling for determinants of chewing ability in the later life-course.
Conclusion: These findings give evidence for a considerable impact of early life conditions on the evolution of oral health throughout the life course.