[The dental status of elderly people in Hungary--based on mass screening]

Twenty-three % of the Hungarian population was older than 60 years at the time of this epidemiological survey. This ratio increases gradually. So it is important to know the dental status of this population both from a professional and national health service point of view. The authors have evaluated the data of the dental health state of 2466 persons who were older than 60 years. The data were collected between 1986 and 1989. 1.8% of them kept all their teeth, 38.5% had no teeth at all. The average number of teeth was 3.49 on the upper and 4.57 on the lower jaw. 4-5% of the remaining teeth had caries. The ratio of filled teeth was 3.7% (male) and 6.8% (female). Periodontal problems were diagnosed in 34.2% (male) and 26.1% (female) of the patients. In 57.5% (male) and 73.0% (female) of the missing teeth were replaced. The cases where a large number of teeth were missing (class 2A, 2B, Fábián and Fejérdy classification) were quite often only partially treated.