They may not only live with pain that affects their sleep, speech and ability to enjoy certain foods, but often also face discrimination and stigma.

So, why is it so shameful to have missing teeth or gum disease? And what can we do about it?

The social and psychological impact

Whenever decayed teeth were visible, participants rated the person lower in intelligence, social skills, confidence, self-esteem and whether they appeared happy — based only on the photo.

We found losing teeth to decay or injury was relatively common, affecting one in ten children. These children then had a 42 per cent higher risk of being bullied at school.

These stigmatising experiences can lead to feelings of shame, embarrassment and low self-esteem. In some cases, they can mean people are less likely to seek dental care, fearing further humiliation or blame that they have neglected themselves.

Dental care is often out of reach

This means oral health care remains inaccessible and unaffordable for many Australians.

Poor oral health affects everyday life

Research shows when people are in pain from tooth decay they are more likely to take days off work and school. This can have long-term negative effects, disrupting education and employment.

Research shows when people are in pain from tooth decay they are more likely to take days off work and school. Source: Getty / ArtistGNDphotography

Parents may also need to take time off work to take children to the dentist or dental hygienist. They often face financial pressures due to high out-of-pocket costs for dental treatments.

There has also been a recent surge in people using superannuation to pay for dental treatments, for largely preventable conditions. This will further entrench financial disadvantage.

So, what’s the fix?