[The time requirements for the dental treatment of independent and handicapped geriatric patients. An epidemiological study]

To plan a dental care program for geriatric patients, the dental treatment needs of 219 elderly patients consecutively admitted to a geriatric hospital were quantitatively assessed. Of 89 patients with residual teeth, 97.8% were assessed as needing dental treatment of a mean projected duration of about 312 min per patient. Of the 130 edentulous patients, 30.8% needed dental treatment of a mean projected duration of about 194 min per patient. Patients exhibiting high (greater than 60 min) dental treatment needs were more frequently impaired in activities of daily living than patients with low (less than or equal to 60 min) dental treatment needs (e.g. impaired transfer function 60.2% vs. 28.0%). There was no difference in the oral hygiene or in the cleanliness of removable dentures between patients needing and not needing help in activities of daily living. In conclusion, the present results show a high amount of dental treatment needed in elderly patients. For the planning of an effective dental care program, special attention has to be paid to the interdisciplinary treatment of patients with limitations in activities of daily living. Furthermore, the improvement of the oral hygiene status is of paramount importance in most elderly patients.