Oral healthcare needs of the institutionalized ageing population in Tamil Nadu

. This study aimed to determine the oral health status and treatment needs of an elderly population residing in old-age homes in Tamil Nadu.

. We did a cross-sectional study among people 65 years and older, residing in affordable and non-affordable old-age homes in Tamil Nadu. A total of 600 elderly people (332 from private, self-financed and 268 charitable old-age homes) were clinically examined and assessed using the WHO basic oral health proforma, 2013. The data obtained were entered into Microsoft Excel 2013 computer program, and then exported to the data editor page of SPSS version 16 for statistical analysis.

. The mean decayed, missing and filled teeth (DMFT) of the total study population were 22.21. On assessing the periodontal status, it was observed that only 36.9% of the elderly had healthy gingiva. Dental erosion (20.9%) was comparatively more prevalent than dental fluorosis (1.2%), dental trauma (3%) and oral mucosal lesions (11.7%) among the study population. The prevalence of denture wearers was 24.5%. On statistical analysis, the values for DMFT and denture status were significantly different (p<0.05) between those in private and charitable old-age homes.

. The overall oral health status of the elderly was poor. The requirements of oral healthcare needs are higher among the elderly living in charitable homes than those in private, self-financed homes.