Abstract :
The aim of this study was to evaluate the oral health status in a consecutive sample of elderly Saudi dental patients. The survey involved 540 subjects, two thirds of whom were males and one third females with an age range of 55 to 93 years. The prevalence of caries and periodontal diseases was assessed using the WHO recommended procedures for DMFT and CPI. Caries was detected in 50% of dentate population and root caries scored the highest percentage (41.9%), particularly among male subjects while females showed surface caries. Root caries and to a lesser extent surface caries were encountered more frequently in younger and older age groups (24.9±2.7). The mean DMFT score was recorded as 24.3±4.6 for male subjects and those aged 70 years and older. The missing component was the highest for both genders and also for the different age groups. Periodontal condition assessment involved 301 subjects (55.7%). The severity of the disease was measured by the loss of attachment and gingival recession, which appeared to vary considerably between subjects, genders and age groups. The majority of subjects had loss of attachment at 4-6 mm threshold followed by 9 mm threshold. Likewise, the mean number of teeth with loss of attachment varied for gender and different age groups. In the older age group the prevalence of 9 mm threshold was the highest observed for a relatively small number of teeth. Evaluation of the periodontal status according to the CPI index indicated that none of the subjects assessed were periodontally healthy. The percentages of subjects with bleeding, calculus, shallow and deep pockets were 1.3, 33.6, 38.5 and 26.6, respectively. Both males and females showed a high tendency towards shallow pockets, recorded as the highest score. Similar observation was noted for all the age groups. Although the number of subjects aged 70+ were relatively low, the proportions of CPI scores were higher than those of the second age group.
