Radiographic evaluation of the dental condition of elderly people treated at a Brazilian public university

Aim: To assess the dental status of elderly patients examined in the clinical dentistry course of a Brazilian public university. Methods: An observational and descriptive study based on the analysis of panoramic radiographs. The sample consisted of 60 elderly patients who met the inclusion criteria. Two observers who had been trained in appropriate conditions performed the radiographic analysis. Data were stored in a specific form, recorded in a database and analyzed using descriptive statistics (measures of central tendency and variability) and inferential statistics (Mann-Whitney U test, Kruskal-Wallis test, Chi-square analysis and calculation of the Cramer’s V coefficient). Results: Most patients had at least one tooth in the oral cavity (71.7%), while 28.3% were totally edentulous, an average of 10.5 teeth per individual. The average number of teeth was 11.36 in males and 9.89 in females. The number of healthy teeth was 328 (5.47 per patient). In this study, 88.3% of the subjects had periodontal bone loss, with prevalence of moderate (35.0%) and severe (28.3%) bone loss. Conclusions: Given the high incidence of edentulous individuals, the high number of restored teeth and poor periodontal conditions, it is concluded that the overall oral health status of the evaluated elderly subjects is poor.