Dental status of an institutionalized elderly population of 60 years and over in Qingdao, China

Objectives The aim of this study was to investigate dental status of institutionalized elders and to relate outcomes with background variables and oral functionality. Materials and methods Dental status of 512 elders (≥60 years) from eight nursing homes in Qingdao were analyzed in terms of prevalence of decayed (D), missing (M), filled (F), and replaced teeth (R). Multivariate logistic regression was applied to determine relationships with the background variables age, gender, and SES. Prevalence of D, M, and F was analyzed also for separate dental regions. For determining oral functionality, prevalence of dentitions with ≥20 teeth without and with tooth replacements was plotted against age. Results Mean number of D varied from 3.8 at 60 years to 4.6 at 90 years, M from 3.6 at 60 years to 6.7 at 90 years for the lower jaw, and from 3.0 at 60 years to 8.0 at 90 years for the upper. Mean number of F in each jaw was low: 0.2 at 60 years to 0.4 at 90 years. Gender and SES effects were limited. Molars had significantly higher prevalence of D and M than premolar and anterior teeth. Seventy percent of participants of 60 years had ≥20 natural teeth and 12 % at 90 years. Including tooth replacements, 96 % at 60 years, and 84 % at 90 years had ≥20 teeth. Conclusions In this sample of institutionalized elders, dental status of the majority of participants did not represent a functional dentition without tooth replacements. Clinical relevance Institutionalized Chinese elders showed relatively low numbers of decayed teeth but high numbers of missing teeth.