Edentulism and shortened dental arch in Brazilian elderly from the National Survey of Oral Health 2003

Abstract

OBJECTIVE:To describe the distribution of edentulism and estimate the prevalence of functional dentition and shortened dental arch among elderly population. METHODS:A population-based epidemiological study was carried out with a sample of 5,349 respondents aged 65 to 74 years obtained from the 2002 and 2003 Brazilian Ministry of Health/Division of Oral Health survey database. The following variables were studied: gender; macroregion of residence; missing teeth; percentage that met the World Health Organization goal for oral health in the age group 65 to 74 years (50% having at least 20 natural teeth); presence of shortened dental arch; number of posterior occluding pairs of teeth. The Chi-square test assessed the association between categorical variables. The Kruskal-Wallis and Mann-Whitney tests were used to assess differences of mean between number of posterior occluding pairs teeth, macro-region and gender. RESULTS:The elderly population had an average of 5.49 teeth (SD: 7.93) with a median of 0. The proportion of completely edentulous respondents was 54.7%. Complete edentulism was 18.2% in the upper arch and 1.9% in the lower arch. The World Health Organization goal was achieved in 10% of all respondents studied. However, only 2.7% had acceptable masticatory function and aesthetics (having at least shortened dental arch) and a mean number of posterior occluding pairs of 6.94 (SD=2.97). There were signifi cant differences of the percentage of respondents that met the World Health Organization goal and presence of shortened dental arch between men and women. There were differences in shortened dental arch between macroregions. CONCLUSIONS:The Brazilian epidemiological oral health survey showed high rate of edentulism and low rate of shortened dental arch in the elderly population studied, thus suggesting signifi cant functional and aesthetic impairment in all Brazilian macroregions especially among women.

Associations between the Number of Natural Teeth and the Maternal Age at Childbirth or History of Parity in Postmenopausal Women: The 2010–2012 Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey

“…18 The functional dentition concept emphasized that a person needs a minimum number of natural teeth to have adequate dental function without the aid of prosthetic replacements. 28,29 An earlier report suggested that people are able to chew most foods when they have more than 20 teeth; thus, 21 teeth became a cut-off value, since having 21 or more teeth is considered functional dentition. 30 There are a few limitations that should be considered when reviewing the findings of this study.…”

Oral health in the agenda of priorities in public health

“…Figueiredo et al 14 evaluated the masticatory capacity of adults in Florianopolis, and Ribeiro et al 49 described the dental loss of adults and focused the preservation of functional teeth and reduced dental arch as alternatives to prosthetic treatment. Still regarding the latest period, articles on other original themes were published, which are still reverberating in professional field and have given rise to new approaches such as self-perception of oral health of teenagers 41 and adults 27 , and the manifestation of lesions of the oral mucosa in patients with HIV/AIDS 45 .…”

O edentulismo no Brasil: epidemiologia, rede assistencial e produção de próteses pelo Sistema Único de Saúde.

“…Grande parcela dos indivíduos de 35 a 44 anos e de 65 a 74 anos apresentam perdas dentárias, corroborando dados da literatura nacional de que a maioria dos adultos desdentados é portador de dentição funcional, [18][19][20] enquanto que a maioria dos idosos possui ausência de todos os dentes. 18,19 O aspecto cumulativo das duas principais doenças bucais…”