title: [Oral health status of elderly women from the Brazilian Federal District].
abstract: Data from Brazilian researches that evaluated oral health of elderly people show a worrisome situation. The purpose of this study was to estimate the frequency of edentulism, analyze both the use and need profiles of prosthesis, calculate the DMFT index and check the condition of periodontal elderly residents in the Federal District. One hundred and forty women aged 60 years or above were examined. The condition of each prosthesis was evaluated to detect the presence of functional or aesthetic damage. Then, clinical examination was carried out to detect the number of decayed, missing or filled teeth in order to calculate the DMFT index. The periodontal examination included the index of visible plaque, bleeding index, measurement of clinical probing depth, measurement of clinical attachment level and teeth mobility. The results showed poor oral conditions of the patients. The rate of edentulism was high, the DMFT index was elevated (29.8) with a predominance of the extracted component (87.1%) and periodontal condition was considered severe. From these data we can conclude that the oral condition of elderly represented in this study is precarious and reflects the need for health promotion and rehabilitation programs for this segment of the population.
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Odontologia, Faculdade de Ciências da Saúde, Universidade Católica de Brasília, Brasília, DF, 72030-170, Brazil. anam@ucb.br
authors.forename: Ana Maria
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Costa
authors.forename: Maria do Carmo Machado
authors.initials: Mdo C
authors.lastname: Guimarães
authors.forename: Sérgio de Freitas
authors.initials: Sde F
authors.lastname: Pedrosa
authors.forename: Otávio de Tolêdo
authors.initials: Ode T
authors.lastname: Nóbrega
authors.forename: Ana Cristina Barreto
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: Bezerra
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001938:Brazil; D004245:DMF Index; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D009909:Oral Health