title: Dental treatment needs in an elderly population referred to a geriatric hospital in Switzerland.
abstract: 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.
authors.affiliation: Department of Geriatric Medicine and Rehabilitation, Zieglerspital, Bern, Switzerland.
authors.forename: A E
authors.initials: AE
authors.lastname: Stuck
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Chappuis
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Flury
authors.forename: N P
authors.initials: NP
authors.lastname: Lang
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D003627:Data Interpretation, Statistical; D003729:Dental Care; D003731:Dental Caries / Q000453:epidemiology; D003753:Dental Health Surveys; D003796:Dental Service, Hospital; D003778:Dentures / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D016002:Discriminant Analysis; D005260:Female; D006301:Health Services Needs and Demand; D006302:Health Services Research; D006299:Health Services for the Aged; D006782:Hospitals, Special; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009066:Mouth, Edentulous / Q000453:epidemiology; D009910:Oral Hygiene; D010342:Patient Acceptance of Health Care; D010510:Periodontal Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology; D013557:Switzerland