Edentulousness, Denture Wear and Denture Needs of the Elderly in Rural South India

Background: The objectives of this study were to evaluate the prevalence of edentulousness, patients perception on dietary changes resulting from tooth loss and to identify the disparity between actual and patient perceived need to replace missing teeth in an elderly rural population in south India....

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Main Authors: J M Philip, V Rangarajan, A Bridgitte, P Ariga
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Tehran University of Medical Sciences 2012-07-01
Series:Iranian Journal of Public Health
Subjects:
Online Access:http://journals.tums.ac.ir/PdfMed.aspx?pdf_med=/upload_files/pdf/21177.pdf&manuscript_id=21177
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author J M Philip
V Rangarajan
A Bridgitte
P Ariga
author_facet J M Philip
V Rangarajan
A Bridgitte
P Ariga
author_sort J M Philip
collection DOAJ
description Background: The objectives of this study were to evaluate the prevalence of edentulousness, patients perception on dietary changes resulting from tooth loss and to identify the disparity between actual and patient perceived need to replace missing teeth in an elderly rural population in south India.Methods: A cross sectional study using the systematic cluster sampling method was used to select the study sample of 150 elderly men and women. Data were collected using questionnaires and oral examination. The data were statistically analyzed using chi square test and pearson correlation.Results: 15.6% of the rural elderly were completely edentulous and 54.7% were partially edentulous. Observed differences in distribution between the sampled elderly age groups were found to be statistically significant. Although 70.3% of the evaluated elderly actually required prosthodontic treatment, only 14.4% perceived the need to replace missing teeth. A small percentage of the elderly (18%) perceived a severe change in their diets due to tooth loss. Thirty three percent of them perceived a moderate change and 28% felt that there were no dietary changes because of tooth loss.Conclusions: It is essential to identify feasible strategies to provide primary dental health education and treatment to all rural elderly in the future. We suggest community dental health services as a general health need of the elderly rather than a special health need of the community.
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spelling doaj.art-a2c8092693184b3293f90630074aed9f2022-12-21T23:36:47ZengTehran University of Medical SciencesIranian Journal of Public Health2251-60852012-07-014174043Edentulousness, Denture Wear and Denture Needs of the Elderly in Rural South IndiaJ M PhilipV RangarajanA BridgitteP ArigaBackground: The objectives of this study were to evaluate the prevalence of edentulousness, patients perception on dietary changes resulting from tooth loss and to identify the disparity between actual and patient perceived need to replace missing teeth in an elderly rural population in south India.Methods: A cross sectional study using the systematic cluster sampling method was used to select the study sample of 150 elderly men and women. Data were collected using questionnaires and oral examination. The data were statistically analyzed using chi square test and pearson correlation.Results: 15.6% of the rural elderly were completely edentulous and 54.7% were partially edentulous. Observed differences in distribution between the sampled elderly age groups were found to be statistically significant. Although 70.3% of the evaluated elderly actually required prosthodontic treatment, only 14.4% perceived the need to replace missing teeth. A small percentage of the elderly (18%) perceived a severe change in their diets due to tooth loss. Thirty three percent of them perceived a moderate change and 28% felt that there were no dietary changes because of tooth loss.Conclusions: It is essential to identify feasible strategies to provide primary dental health education and treatment to all rural elderly in the future. We suggest community dental health services as a general health need of the elderly rather than a special health need of the community.http://journals.tums.ac.ir/PdfMed.aspx?pdf_med=/upload_files/pdf/21177.pdf&manuscript_id=21177EdentulousnessDenture WearDenture NeedIndia
spellingShingle J M Philip
V Rangarajan
A Bridgitte
P Ariga
Edentulousness, Denture Wear and Denture Needs of the Elderly in Rural South India
Iranian Journal of Public Health
Edentulousness
Denture Wear
Denture Need
India
title Edentulousness, Denture Wear and Denture Needs of the Elderly in Rural South India
title_full Edentulousness, Denture Wear and Denture Needs of the Elderly in Rural South India
title_fullStr Edentulousness, Denture Wear and Denture Needs of the Elderly in Rural South India
title_full_unstemmed Edentulousness, Denture Wear and Denture Needs of the Elderly in Rural South India
title_short Edentulousness, Denture Wear and Denture Needs of the Elderly in Rural South India
title_sort edentulousness denture wear and denture needs of the elderly in rural south india
topic Edentulousness
Denture Wear
Denture Need
India
url http://journals.tums.ac.ir/PdfMed.aspx?pdf_med=/upload_files/pdf/21177.pdf&manuscript_id=21177
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AT abridgitte edentulousnessdenturewearanddentureneedsoftheelderlyinruralsouthindia
AT pariga edentulousnessdenturewearanddentureneedsoftheelderlyinruralsouthindia