Oral health issues of Spanish adults aged 65 and over

Objectives: The aim of this survey was to investigate the oral health and n utritional status of elderly men and women, including those living in insti tutions, representative of Spanish adults aged 65 years old and over. Desig n: Cross-sectional oral health survey in an elderly population. Subjects: 3 ,460 adults (1,433 men and 1,996 women) aged 65 and older (mean age 73.2 (/- 6.4)). Setting: Randomly selected primary care clinics and institutions. Intervention: The oral health survey included a questionnaire and an oral examination conducted by calibrated dentists. A structured interview on soc io-economic status, oral health habits, a Mini-Nutritional Assessment, and a clinical evaluation of oral and dental health, were performed. Results: 3 1% of the population were edentulous. The dentate subjects had an average o f 15 teeth. 73% of the dentate sample brushed their teeth once or less a da y. Mean DMFT value was 21.8. Risk of malnutrition was present in 43% of the edentulous and 39% of the dentate, and in 53% of institutionalised and 40% of non-institutionalised subjects. Malnutrition was present in 5% of edent ulous and 4% of dentate adults. Discussion: Despite the low level of edentu lousness, the oral health of Spanish adults aged 65 and older is poor. Ther e is also a need to ensure that the overall balance of the diet is not impa ired because of the state of the dentition.