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Caries status at the moment of total tooth extraction in a rural and an urban area in the Netherlands
Author(s) -
Bouma Jelte,
Schaub Rob M. H.,
De Poel Fons
Publication year - 1986
Publication title -
community dentistry and oral epidemiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.061
H-Index - 101
eISSN - 1600-0528
pISSN - 0301-5661
DOI - 10.1111/j.1600-0528.1986.tb01088.x
Subject(s) - dentures , medicine , dentistry , dentition , rural area , urban area , orthodontics , dental care , economy , pathology , economics
Edentulousness varies with the availability and accessibility of dental care. Comparing the dental status of groups of patients getting full dentures might give insight into the effect of different levels of supply of dental care on the dental condition. Therefore a research project has been started in the Netherlands in an urban and a rural area, having dentist‐patient ratios of 1:2,500 and 1:5,700 respectively. In the urban and rural area an equal proportion had partial dentures prior to losing the last of their teeth. However, in the urban area 33% of the patients wearing partial dentures had full maxillary or mandibular dentures; in the rural area this figure was 73%. In the rural area a larger proportion had lost 21 or more teeth at the moment of total extraction. Therefore, it was concluded that in the urban area more effort was spent in maintaining the natural dentition. Looking at DMF‐T figures and separate components of DMF‐T, no differences could be established between people living in areas with a high and a low dentist‐patient ratio.