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Dental treatment needs in an elderly population referred to a geriatric hospital in Switzerland
Author(s) -
Stuck Andreas E.,
Chappuis Charles,
Flury Hans,
Lang Niklaus P.
Publication year - 1989
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.1600-0528.1989.tb00631.x
Subject(s) - medicine , dentistry , geriatric dentistry , dentures , oral hygiene , prosthesis , tooth loss , population , dental prosthesis , oral health , implant , surgery , environmental health
Of 219 elderly patients admitted consecutively to a geriatric hospital in Switzerland, 59.4% were edentulous. A high proportion of the dentate patients exhibited tooth loss patterns requiring free‐end partial dentures in the maxilla (36.0%) or the mandible (69.7%). Of the remaining teeth, 29.3% were decayed, and 45.1% had severe periodontitis. Virtually all (97.8%) dentate and 31.5% of the edentulous subjects were judged to need some kind of dental treatment. In contrast, the subjective need for dental treatment was low in dentate (30.4%) and edentulous (13.1%) subjects. Prosthesis hygiene was poor in 73.8% of the 191 denture wearers whether they needed assistance with oral hygiene or not. The objectively‐assessed need for a new prosthesis in edentulous patients was determined by income, marital status, and patient mobility, whereas the need for a prosthesis alteration was related to cognitive function. These findings should help to plan future dental prophylactic and therapeutic services in geriatric hospitals