title: Oral health status and treatment needs of non-institutionalized persons aged 60+ in Adelaide, South Australia.
abstract: There has been a growing recognition of the need to obtain information about the oral health of older Australians. The aim of this report is to provide descriptive epidemiological information about the oral health and treatment needs of non-institutionalized older adults in Adelaide. Data from interviews with 178 persons aged 60+ were obtained from a pilot study. Clinical data were available for 106 persons who participated in oral examinations. Among the 52.9 per cent of dentate persons, the prevalence of root decay (27.1 per cent) was slightly higher than coronal decay (23.6 per cent). Some 28.1 per cent of dentate persons had a serious periodontal condition, defined as the presence of four or more teeth with at least 5 mm or more of periodontal attachment loss and periodontal pocketing of 4 mm or more at one or more of those teeth. The majority of persons (83.8 per cent) wore one or two dentures. Disorders associated with dentures were frequent, affecting 77.4 per cent of upper denture wearers and 72.5 per cent of lower denture wearers. Persons who were older, who had lower educational attainment or lower household incomes were disadvantaged in aspects of oral health status and dental caries. However, there were no consistent associations between chronic medical conditions and oral disorders. Despite the high prevalence of oral impairment, reflecting extensive disease activity in the past, high levels of untreated disease were relatively uncommon. Instead, a high prevalence of oral disorders created a substantial need for basic forms of dental treatment in this group.
authors.affiliation: Department of Dentistry, University of Adelaide, South Australia.
authors.forename: G D
authors.initials: GD
authors.lastname: Slade
authors.forename: A J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Spencer
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Gorkic
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Andrews
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D004245:DMF Index; D016321:Dental Care for Aged / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D003731:Dental Caries / Q000453:epidemiology*; D003753:Dental Health Surveys; D004522:Educational Status; D005260:Female; D006301:Health Services Needs and Demand / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D007182:Income; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009066:Mouth, Edentulous / Q000453:epidemiology*; D009909:Oral Health; D010510:Periodontal Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology*; D010512:Periodontal Index; D010865:Pilot Projects; D015995:Prevalence; D013021:South Australia / Q000453:epidemiology; D013282:Stomatitis, Denture / Q000453:epidemiology