Work

Tooth shame - An ethnographic study of the choreographies of tooth shame in Danish elderly care

Year: 2024

Type: article

Abstract: This study suggests the term tooth shame and explores it as a phenomenon encompassing deep entanglements between emotional experiences, social interactions, and care work practices. Drawing on shame research concerning the body, health, and class, juxtaposed with odontological research on the social implications of oral health issues, it investigates how tooth shame appears in Danish elderly care. In Denmark, oral health is notably impaired among older people depending on professional care, with significant repercussions for general health and social life. The study stems from the Lifelong Oral Health project, which identifies barriers to oral health and examines the potential to improve it in Danish elderly care. It is based on ethnographic fieldwork in nursing homes, home care units, and a rehabilitation center in two Danish municipalities. As self-derogative statements and self-limiting behaviors regarding oral health issues stood out as a general finding in interviews with older people, the focus on tooth shame emerged from this fieldwork. The study contributes to recent shame discussions with a social-material understanding of tooth shame, emphasizing that it is more than an individual feature. It is a collectively distributed phenomenon that expands among people and situations, and that interferes with vital caring practices. The study suggests that tooth shame appears through the performance of tooth shame choreographies , highlighting its implications in a socio-material setting. First, it demonstrates that tooth shame can make older people adapt to oral health issues, for example, by avoiding social interactions, dental care, and oral treatments. Second, it identifies tooth shame as a collectively distributed and expanding phenomenon, as it draws, for example, care workers into sensitive shame situations. Third, it explores how tooth shame interferes with daily dental care practices, professional considerations, and ethical dilemmas within elderly care systems. • Tooth shame holds great implications for self-worth, social life, and oral health. • Tooth shame is prevalent among older people in need of professional dental care. • Tooth shame can make older people adapt to severe oral health issues. • Tooth shame expands collectively and draws care workers into sensitive situations. • Tooth shame interferes with vital dental care practices in elderly care.

Source: Social Science & Medicine

DOI: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2024.117500

Authors: Louise Folker, Astrid Pernille Jespersen, Esben Boeskov Øzhayat

Institution: University of Copenhagen

Language: English

Topic: Dental Health and Care Utilization

Subfield: Periodontics

Field: Dentistry

Domain: Health Sciences

SDG: Good health and well-being

Open Access status: hybrid

Estimated APC paid: $3,390