Oral health status and treatment needs of Canadian adults aged 85 years and over

In an oral health survey, 1375 adults aged 85 and older were examined in North York, Canada. Only 31% of dentate nursing home residents and 47% of dentate independently living subjects had received dental care in the year previous to examination. The overall prevalence of edentulism was 66%, and about 80% of subjects wore at least one denture. Of the dentate subjects, over 60% had untreated decay, and 47% of nursing home residents had untreated root decay. Regarding clinically defined treatment needs, high levels of unmet need were identified in subjects from both types of residences. Among nursing home residents, about 45% of dentate subjects required tooth extraction, and 56% required prosthodontic treatment. Although only 27% of dentate independently living residents required tooth extraction, over 60% needed restorative treatment. Higher prevalence of both untreated decay and unmet treatment needs was associated with lower utilization of dental care for dentate subjects. For edentulous subjects, prosthetic treatment was required by 70% of nursing home residents and by 51% of independently living subjects. These results indicate that, for both nursing home and independently living residents, dental diseases and treatment needs continue throughout the lifespan.