An upcoming paper that'll be published in American Economic Journal: Applied Economics took a look at how improved dental health can impacts one's social standing, economic outcomes, and psychological state.
The study involved providing a low-income group of people in Chile with free dental care, including often expensive services like prostheses, and then comparing outcomes with another group that were not given the same.
The researchers found that folks who were provided these services had generally more positive outcomes than those who didn't receive them, and that women in particular benefitted mightily, especially those who had more severe, visible dental issues to begin with.
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