Evaluation of the oral health status of the people aged 65 years and over living in near rural district of Middle Anatolia, Turkey

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Abstract

The aim of this study was to assess the oral health status of aged 65 years and over, and evaluate the level of edentulousness and study the factors that could have an influence on edentulism. The participants of this study were 215 patients; 94 males (47.3%) and 121 females (56.3%), aged 65 years and over. Each subject underwent a comprehensive dental and radiographic examination by one examiner. Periodontal attachment loss observed in the panoramic radiographs was divided into three diagnostic categories: infrabony defects, horizontal bone loss, and furcation lesions. The number of teeth with apical periodontitis lesions, the number of carious teeth, and restorations, type of dentures and wear duration, intrabony root remains, impacted teeth, smoking status, educational level and self-reported medical history of the participants were recorded. Extent of tooth loss was significantly higher in females than males and increased with increasing age (p < 0.05). Tooth loss was significantly associated with educational levels; lower literacy level was found to be associated with a higher number of missing teeth (p < 0.01). Also, as the educational levels of the participants increased, the number of infrabony defects, furcation lesions and number of carious teeth decreased (p < 0.05). Low literacy level and female gender are found to be high-risk groups for tooth loss. Community-based oral disease prevention programs should be implemented to reduce the risk for tooth loss in this population.

Introduction

More people are living longer and retaining more of their natural teeth than they did earlier in this century. This improved medical and dental health could be caused by independent events or they could reflect subtle, but real, interactions between oral/dental health and medical health, which reinforce each other (Loesche et al., 1995). Although the average lifespan in most Western societies is increasing, both systemic and oral health deteriorate with aging (Persson et al., 2002).

Edentulism (partial or total) is an indicator of the oral health of a population. It may also be a reflection of the success of various preventive and treatment modalities put in place by health care authorities. Many patients also regard edentulism as self-mutilating, which may be a strong incentive to seek dental treatment. While the rate of total edentulism is decreasing in developed countries, the reverse is the case with developing countries and is being attributed mainly to the prevalence of periodontal disease and caries (Esan et al., 2004).

An important part of their treatment is radiographic screening for pathologic findings that might interfere with the patients’ general health or planned prosthetic constructions (Soikkonen et al., 1994). Oral radiographic examination is often called for by physicians to reveal a suspected source of infection, an “oral infectious focus” (Soikkonen et al., 2000). Studies comparing panoramic radiographs and intra-oral radiographs, which are generally preferred in clinical practice, have demonstrated that both are almost equally useful for determining alveolar bone conditions or the frequency of non-interpretable or measurable sites. The distribution of infrabony lesions and furcation defects has been assessed from panoramic radiographs. Therefore, access to panoramic radiographs could provide simultaneous information about oral conditions, such as oral infectious foci and periodontal alveolar bone conditions (Akesson, 1991).

The aim of this study was to assess the oral health status of residents in the city of Kırıkkale, Turkey, aged 65 years and over, and to evaluate the level of edentulousness and study the differences between the variables that could have an influence on edentulism.

Section snippets

Study group

The participants of this study were 215 patients, aged 65 years and over, who have attended the University of Kırıkkale, Faculty of Dentistry for routine dental treatment. The study group consisted of 94 male (47.3%) and 121 female (56.3%) patients who were recruited for the study, after taking their informed consent. The ages of the participants ranged from 65 to 83 years (males: 65–83, mean: 72.2 ± 7.7, females: 65–82, mean: 71.8 ± 7.1). One hundred and ninety subjects in the study group (88.4%)

General characteristics of the study group

All subjects had lost one or more teeth with a mean tooth loss of 17.1 ± 10.1; 15.2 ± 10.4 for males and 18.5 ± 9.6 for females. The extent of tooth loss was significantly higher in females than males (p = 0.007). Mandibular anterior teeth were the least frequently missing teeth, with a mean of 2.3 ± 2.4, while maxillary posterior teeth were the most frequently missing teeth, with a mean of 6.5 ± 3.2. The extent of tooth loss increased with increasing age (p < 0.05). Also, tooth loss was found to be

Discussion

The results of the current study showed a relatively high frequency of tooth loss. All subjects had lost one or more teeth, and the average number of teeth lost was 17.1 ± 10.1. The prevalence and the extent of tooth loss increased with increased age. The level of education of the study group was low with 21.4% having attended secondary school and only 11.2% having attended university. Female gender and low literacy level were found to be significantly associated with tooth loss. These findings

Conclusion

In this adult population, low literacy level and female gender are found to be high-risk groups for tooth loss. Community-based oral diseases prevention programs should be implemented to reduce the risk for tooth loss in this population. Analysis of the results showed poor dental health in this target group and the necessity of improving the dental health services programs in this region.

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