Oral function in dentate elderly with reduced dentitions

Abstract

This study covers the characteristics of reduced dentitions in a population of elderly people. The sample consisted of 329 independently living individuals between 55 and 75 years of age. They all had one or more natural teeth and were all interviewed and investigated clinically. The findings showed that 13% of the subjects had a natural dentition with at least the first molars; 4-7 natural occlusal units (defined as 'pairs of opposing teeth that support the occlusion') occurred in 37% of the subjects; 1-4 natural occlusal units in 41% and 0 units in 9% (only anterior contacts). A removable partial denture was worn by 39% of the subjects; most of them were acrylic based dentures (61%). The percentages of restored teeth per subject were high. The need for further restorations, however, was low. Periodontal problems were uncommon; 25% of the subjects had one pocket above 5 mm; 8% had severe problems. Poor oral hygiene was present in a quarter of the cases. Most of the subjects (70%) had no pain or noises in the temporomandibular joint. Only 10% of subjects had more than one sign of craniomandibular dysfunction. Most of the subjects (85%) visit their dentist regularly and 65% had their last tooth extraction more than three years ago. A majority mentioned that they have never had problems with their dentition in the past; 50% had had no real toothache for the last five years. However, problems with food-packing were often mentioned. It can be concluded that, although the dentitions of the elderly in this population are often reduced, their dentitions are in general in good condition and few give TMJ problems.

Association between functional tooth units and chewing ability in older adults: a systematic review

“…Shortened dental arch (SDA) concept has been suggested for middle‐aged and elderly adults with a history of compromised oral health. Through a considerable number of clinical studies. Käyser and his co‐workers came to the conclusion that most people require, in addition to their anterior teeth, at least four occlusal units of posterior teeth, where one pair of opposing occluding premolars represents one occlusal unit and one pair of occluding molars represents two occlusal units, preferably in a symmetrical position.…”

A Measure of Agreement Between Clinicians and a Computer‐Based Decision Support System for Planning Dental Treatment

“…A clinician, by contrast, can offer no treatment or a removable partial denture even for relatively small spaces, in deference to the patient's therapeutic wishes or financial resources. 28,34 TxDENT will not replace the diagnostic judgment that allows an experienced clinician to deal with clinical uncertainty. Introduction of uncertainty into a comprehensive rule-based program needs elaborate information from the range of practical uncertainty associated with the decisions of even the most experienced clinicians.…”

“…39 The orthodontists agreed almost unanimously (96 percent) on the design for the headgear, which simplified greatly the mathematical incorporation of the fuzzy functions into the decision-support system. 39 Agreement is much less certain among clinicians diagnosing and planning treatment for caries, 40,41 periodontal disease, 42 tooth loss, 43,44 and other problems encountered by TxDENT. Another mathematical approach to uncertainty for individual clini-cal signs is "treatment probabilities," [45][46][47] but there are very few reports on the probable selection of specific treatments by dentists.…”

Minimal Intervention Prosthodontics: Current Knowledge and Societal Implications

“…Nonetheless, the SDA concept has been substantiated by studies of the participants' assessment that indicate they would be satisfied with the greatly reduced chewing efficiency that accompanies tooth loss [42][43][44][45][46][120][121][122][123][124].…”

“…In the literature [42][43][44][45][46], chewing efficiency has been quantified by several different methods, along with other factors such as the swallow threshold and salivary output. Measurement of chewing efficiency remains a relatively controversial topic due to methodological variability.…”