Oral health in people over 64 years of age, institutionalized in Centres for the Aged in the Vigo Health District Spain, 2005

Abstract

Objective: The aim of this study is to determine the prevalence of dental caries, periodontal disease and the condition of and need for dental prosthesis in individuals over the age of 64.

Design: A cross-sectional, descriptive and observational study was carried out among all the residents in 3 Centres for the Aged in Vigo-Spain. The standardized criteria of the DMFT (Decayed, Missing and Filled Teeth) index and The Community Periodontal Index of Treatment Needs (CPITN) of the World Health Organization (WHO) were used.

Results: 459 subjects were examined with a mean age of 83.8 years, 23% were men and 77% were women; 45% fit for everyday life and 23% require intensive care. In the 85 to 89-year-old group, 53% presented both maxillary and mandibular edentulism and 5% have all of their own teeth. 40% of residents wear a maxillary and mandibular prosthesis and 21% do not wear any kind of dental prosthesis; 38% have complete well-adjusted prosthesis, 28% badly-adjusted prosthesis and 18% need replacing. 38% have inadequate oral hygiene and 20% of prosthesis wearers have a large amount of build-up of dental plaque-calculus. In the subjects studied, the DMFT index was 27.02 with a 36% prevalence of dental caries and a mean of 1.45 caries (SD +/- 2.58.), with 76.7% missing teeth, 3.6% filled teeth and 4.2% decayed teeth. The CPITN index shows that 47% of the group have mild periodontal disease (gingival bleeding and calculus) and 9% moderate periodontal disease (periodontal pockets) and in the ratio of teeth CPITN index 71% have excluded sextant, 13% have gingival bleeding and 12% have dental calculus.

Conclusion: The results of this study show that dental caries affect more than 30% of the population studied and that periodontal disease in the area of local chronic irritants as well as the presence of periodontal pockets appears in more than half of the subjects studied.