Dental prosthetic status and needs of an elderly population living in long-term care facilities in Singapore

Abstract

This study examined the prosthetic status and needs among an elderly population living in long-term care facilities in Singapore. A total of 488 subjects were randomly selected and 479 of them were examined. The results show that 56.2 percent of selected subjects were edentulous while 43.8 percent had one or more teeth missing. The average number of teeth present among dentate subjects was 7.5. Of the edentulous subjects, 78 percent of them reported not having any dentures, and more than 20 percent of existing dentures were found to be defective and had to be replaced. A higher proportion (94 percent) of dentate subjects who could have benefitted from having partial dentures did not have them. The findings of this study clearly demonstrate high unmet needs for prosthetic care among an institutionalized elderly population.