Edentulous patients among lower socio-economic group of rural lahore area - a cross sectional study

ABSTRACT

The objective of this study was to report on the incidence of edentulous patients among the lower soc ioeconomic group of a rural area of Lahore. A cross-sectional study was done using a proforma for collecting information from the selected population. The study was conducted at Prosthodontic Department of Lahore Medical and Dental College, Lahore, over a period from March 2002 to March 2003. Data was collected from five hundred patients who reported for treatment and fulfilled the selection criteria. The gender distribution of the study population was male 48.6% and female 51.4%. The largest population group was above 60 years [26%] and the smallest group of those less than 20 years [2%]. Complete edentulousness was seen in 49.2%. This study shows that the rural area of Lahore has a poor oral health status when compared with WHO standards