Methods: 1100 stratified random sample of Iranian adults participated in the present telephone survey. Kish-table was used to choose the sample from a household. Self-reported oral health was evaluated by two different measures: extracted teeth and a three-item quality of life measure including questions about pain, chewing ability and communication.
Results: The mean±SD of extracted teeth were 1.28±2.26. 29% of samples reported having pain in the last three months, while the prevalence of chewing and communication problems were 19% and 3%. The overall oral health–related quality of life was reported to be good. The Odds Ratio (20% highest to 20% lowest socio-economic status scores) and 95% CI of extracted teeth was 0.737 (0.654, 0.832). In the case of oral health related quality of life, there was no significant difference between top and bottom socio-economic groups.
Conclusions: There were socio-economic disparities in extracted teeth among Iranian adults, but no disparities were found in the field of oral health related quality of life.