A Study on Denture Satisfaction in Rural Elderly People / 農村醫學 地域保健

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVES: The study aimed to explore dental status and denture satisfaction in some rural elderly people. METHODS: A total of 546 participants aged over 65 years was surveyed cross-sectionally. The subjects were surveyed with regard to their denture satisfaction by a structured questionnaire. The Wilcoxon or Kruskal-Wallis test was used for analysis. RESULTS: As for respondents' satisfaction for dentures by the Likert scale of 5 score, aesthetic satisfaction (3.73) was highest, followed by general satisfaction (3.56) and masticatory functions satisfaction (3.45). In addition, the educational level, occupation, monthly income, the number of remaining teeth, use of denture variables have statistically significant difference in the denture satisfaction of those elderly people interviewed. CONCLUSIONS: The results showed that denture satisfaction in some rural elderly people was different in each categories. Consequently, providing tailor-made oral health education programs for the effective denture management of the elderly people should be needed in order to improve the quality of life of the aged.