COMPLETE EDENTULISM AND DENTURE USE FOR ELDERS IN NEW-ENGLAND

The purpose of this study was to collect information about the oral he alth of a representative group of elders in the New England states. Th is study provides the most current descriptive analysis of completely edentulous noninstitutionalized elders to date. In-home examinations a nd interviews were conducted for a representative sample of elders ove r 70 years of age. The oral examinations and interviews were conducted by calibrated dentists and trained interviewers, respectively. Of 115 6 study participants, 424 (36.7%) were edentulous. Edentulous rates we re similar for men and women and were negatively related to levels of education and income. Of the completely edentulous individuals, 89.9% had maxillary and mandibular complete dentures. Most of these dentures (83.2%) were worn during the day. More than one third of the responde nts reported wearing one or both of their dentures while sleeping at n ight. For 77 of the completely edentulous individuals, examination rev ealed denture irritations, most of which were on the hard palate.