“…Additionally, the rate of edentulism appears to be inversely proportional to one's income level; 20 however, while government subsidies of dental care should abate disparities between income levels, one study of two countries with government‐sponsored dental care subsidies showed dramatic differences in rates of edentulism, irrespective of income levels, with one country exhibiting twice the edentulous level as the other 21 . Where one lives in his/her country may be an indicator of the levels of edentulism, as several countries have demonstrated a correlation of edentulism rates to rural versus urban location; perhaps the edentulism rates (which vary from two to three times higher in rural areas) can be attributed to differences in the dentist/patient ratios between the areas 22,23 . All these studies suggest that edentulism appears to be multifactorial, and that the known predictors of edentulism, that is, gender, income, and education levels, appear to be reasonable prognosticators of edentulism rates, while other socioeconomic factors such as culture, dental aptitude, and access to care, may be more difficult to quantify.…”