DENTURE USE AND THE TECHNICAL ANALITY OF DENTAL PROSTHESES AMONG PERSONS 18-74 YEARS OF AGE - UNITED-STATES, 1988-1991

For persons without all or some of their natural teeth in one or both arches, the use of a complete or partial denture and the quality of th e denture used are important aspects of their oral health and function ing. This report of prosthodontic findings from the first three years of the 1988-94 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANE S III-Phase 1) provides estimates of denture use among the US civilian non-institutionalized population 18-74 years of age, as well as semin al information on the technical quality of dental prostheses nationwid e. NHANES III-Phase 1 prosthodontic findings indicate that about one i n five persons 18-74 years of age wears a removable prosthodontic appl iance of some type. Overall, removable prosthodontic appliances are wo rn disproportionately more often by women than by men, and less freque ntly by whites than by blacks. Comparisons among race-ethnicity catego ries indicate that Mexican-Americans are less likely to use dentures t han either of their non-Hispanic counterparts. Analyses of prosthodont ic evaluation data indicate that approximately 60% of denture users ha ve at least one problem with a denture. These findings from the oral c omponent of NHANES III-Phase 1 provide clear indications that, despite increasing trends in tooth retention, dependence on removable prostho dontic appliances is still a reality of life for millions of Americans .