Edentulism and the need of oral rehabilitation among institutionalized elderly

Background: An adequate dentition is important for well-being and increase of quality of life. Despite advances in preventive dentistry, edentulism is still a major public health issue in Portugal. Objectives: Determine the prevalence of edentulism and assess the oral rehabilitation and oral/prosthetic hygiene habits in a sample of institutionalized elderly. Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional study in a sample of 68 institutionalized elderly (79.4 % female), in which the average age was 78.3 ± 12.0 years old. Data collection was performed by applying a questionnaire about oral health behaviours and through an intraoral observation in order to determine the oral status and verify the condition of the oral rehabilitation of each participant. Results: In the present study, 58.8 % presented total edentulism with no natural teeth in the oral cavity and 66.7 % had a removable prosthesis. From the elderly that had a removable prosthesis, only 42.9 % presented satisfactory prosthetic retention and stability. Only 44.1 % refer daily oral/prosthetic hygiene at least twice-a-day. From the total sample, 29.0 % refer having toothache, 58.1 % refer dry mouth and 67.7 % refer difficulty in chewing, even in the case of having a removable prosthesis. The educational level of the elderly was associated with dental pain (p = 0.012) and oral/prosthetic hygiene (p = 0.034). Conclusions: A high prevalence of tooth loss was found in the sample studied and also the need of improvement of the removable prosthesis is fundamental. Improvement in oral healthcare and oral hygiene habits is essential to promote better oral health and quality of life among the institutionalized elderly.