Aging and Dental Health (Middle Age Versus Geriatric Age)

Abstract

Background: Aging as a physiological process has attracted the attention of many authors in publication of data about physiological and pathological changes that occur in organism. This study aims to express the latest data in literature about dental changes that occur as a result of aging, at component structures of oral cavity, associated with results in numbers of dental changes, comparing middle age and geriatric age. The study presents data recorded from the patients included in this study, about dental status and about systemic condition and systemic pathologies that patients suffer from. Data were recorded at different times, including a total of 93 patients. After clinical examination, endodontically treated teeth were initially recorded. The data about prosthetic treatment were recorded, divided into categories of partial or total prosthetic treatment. The systemic diseases from which patients suffer were recorded. Results: 78% of patients have natural teeth in oral cavity. The range of 16-25 teeth in oral cavity, i.e., 50-78% of mouth filled with natural teeth, includes 22% of patients: 5% of pre-geriatric age and 17% of geriatric age. Edentulism is present in status at level of 22%, while the lack of endo treatment is 39% even in clinical cases where deep caries was present in oral cavity. The presence in 78% of clinical cases with natural teeth is associated with 61% of these same cases of endodontic treatment. Fixed prosthesis is presented in 84% of clinical cases included in the study, while removable prosthesis, regardless of whether it is total or partial, is presented in 61% of clinical cases of the study. Conclusions: The comparison of middle age and geriatric age about collected dental data leads to results that clearly speak about the tendency for prosthetic replacements with both fixed prosthesis and removable prosthesis, placing emphasis the role of dental status at the whole organism. The significant increase in percentage of endodontically treated teeth is another value that speaks of the population’s awareness of dental care. The presence of natural teeth, expressed in numbers and percentages, is a value that reflects data on dental care over the years.