Introduction: Edentulousness (partial or complete) is a sequel of tooth loss and is an indicator of the oral health status of a population. Edentulousness has a series of deleterious consequences for oral and general health. The aim of this study was to find out the prevalence of edentulousness among patients visiting the dental unit of a tertiary care centre. Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study was carried out based on hospital records of patients visiting the Department of Oral Medicine and Prosthodontics of a tertiary care centre from 1 January 2019 to 30 December 2019 to see the prevalence of edentulousness. Ethical approval was obtained from the Institutional Review Committee (Reference number: 077/ 078 /40). A convenience sampling method was used. Point estimate and 95% Confidence Interval were calculated. Results: Among 4697 patients, edentulousness was found in 403 (8.58%) (7.78-9.38, 95% Confidence Interval). Partial edentulous were 263 (65.30%) and complete edentulous were 140 (34.70%). Of the total partial edentulous patient, Kennedy’s class III found in 200 (76.05%) was the most common pattern followed by Kennedy’s class I in 32 (12.17%), class II in 21 (7.98%) and class IV in 10 (3.80%) patients respectively. Conclusions: The prevalence of edentulousness was similar to other studies done in similar settings. Since edentulousness is a preventable problem, it should be addressed with high priority.

Background: Complete dentition is not always appropriate for old aged medically compromised and financially weak individuals. It is the dentist to decide what minimum number of teeth should be restored to have the proper oral function. The aim was to find out the opinion of prosthodontists of Nepal regarding the suitability of shortened dental arch as treatment modality and how frequently is this treatment choice for an old aged Nepalese patient.

Background: Complete dentition is not always appropriate for old aged medically compromised and financially weak individuals. It is the dentist to decide what minimum number of teeth should be restored to have the proper oral function. The aim was to find out the opinion of prosthodon­tists of Nepal regarding the suitability of shortened dental arch as treatment modality and how frequently is this treatment choice for an old aged Nepalese patient. Methods: A pretested close ended questionnaire was usedin this study.After taking ethical clear­ance from Nepal Health Research Council, online questionnaire was sent to the participants along with the consent. Analysis was done using SPSS (version 21) statistical software package. Descrip­tive statistics was used. Percentage and frequencies were calculated. Results: Among respondents, 96.2% (n=51) had heard about shortened dental arch therapy but 3.8 % (n=2) had never heard about it. Forty-two (79.2%) do support shortened dental arch. Eleven (20.8%) do not favorshortened dental arch. Their main reason for replacing molars was to improve masticatory function.Instead of shortened dental arch,n=5(45.5%) prefer cast partial denture and 6(54.5%) advice implant supported fixed prosthesis. Among Prosthodontists who recommended shortened dental arch therapy, eight (19.1%) always advised patients not to replace molars. Twen­ty-four (57.1%) prosthodontists who support shortened dental arch therapy mentioned chewing function in shortened dental arch patients as satisfactory. Conclusions: Majority of Prosthodontists agree that shortened dental arch is a suitable treatment option for older people in developing countries like Nepal. But the treatment is not employed in clinical practice as required.