Oral health status of the elderly in Lahore district of Pakistan

ABSTRACT

Poor oral health among old aged people is an important public health issue and a growing burden to countries worldwide. In Pakistan, there is paucity of data available regarding the oral health status of the elderly. This study was aimed to describe oral health status of the elderly in Lahore district, by assessing the dental disease prevalence in the 60+ age group. The current study was conducted in Lahore district. The results of the study are based on 470 valid examination proformas. The mean age of the total sample was 66.71+6.39 falling in the range of 60-91 years. Extra and intra oral examination were carried out. All clinical findings were recorded on the standard World Health Organization [WHO] oral health assessment form. Prevalence of periodontal disease as observed by Community Periodontal Index [CPI] was almost 70% in the study population. Calculus, most frequent findings, was observed in 28% subjects, shallow pocketing in 23.25% whereas deep pocketing was reported in 18.75%. Mean Decayed Missing Filled [DMF] score for the sample was 16.3 with females scoring higher than males. Missing component constituted 86.5% of the DMF score. 80% of the subjects did not wear any prosthesis, while almost 11.85% wore either a bridge or a partial denture or both; and another 8.5% wore a complete denture. Temporomandibular joint [TMJ] symptoms were reported by 11.25% of the subjects whereas TMJ clicking was the most common sign observed in 38%. TMJ tenderness and reduced jaw mobility was observed in 11.1% and 1.4% of the subjects respectively. Results of the current study clearly indicate poor oral health status of the elderly in the study population of Lahore. The level of unmet needs is very high hence; more attention needs to be given towards is improving and maintaining the oral health status of the elderly