title: Factors related to unmet oral health needs in older adults living in Chile.
abstract: To assess the oral health status and treatment needs of an ambulant population of older adults, living in the Maule Region, Chile, and provide descriptive information on its distribution by selected socio-demographic characteristics. The source of primary data was the Regional Oral Health Survey. A stratified random sample of 438 older adults, aged 65-74 years, living independently in the community was orally examined, and underwent an oral health interview. The sample was largely a dentate one (74.9%); with a mean DMFT score of 25.7 (s.d. 6.5) and an average number of missing teeth of 22.4 (s.d. 5.8). Dentate participants had 41% of their restorative care needs unmet, and 68.4% needed oral hygiene instruction plus removal of calculus on their teeth. Almost 30.1% required complex periodontal therapy. 21% of those fully edentulous were in need of full dentures. Comparing these findings with existing data on the oral health of older adults in Chile, participants in this study appear to have lower missing teeth scores and less need for complex periodontal treatment. Inequities were apparent in the proportion of unmet restorative and prosthetics needs. Community-based preventive care programs specifically tailored to older adults are needed to address this challenge.
authors.affiliation: Oral Health Cooperative Research Centre, Melbourne Dental School, University of Melbourne, Australia. Electronic address: rmarino@unimelb.edu.au.
authors.forename: Rodrigo
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Mariño
authors.affiliation: Cariology Unit, Department of Oral Rehabilitation and Interdisciplinary Excellence Research Program on Healthy Aging (PIEI-ES), University of Talca, Talca, Chile.
authors.forename: Rodrigo A
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Giacaman
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D002677:Chile / Q000453:epidemiology; D003729:Dental Care / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D003731:Dental Caries / Q000453:epidemiology*; D003752:Dental Health Services / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D003753:Dental Health Surveys; D054242:Emigrants and Immigrants; D005260:Female; D006301:Health Services Needs and Demand / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D054624:Health Status Disparities; D006801:Humans; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D008297:Male; D009909:Oral Health
keywords: Chile; Oral health status; Public Health; Unmet needs