Salunke Subhash, Shah Vinod, Ostbye Truls, Gandhi Anjali, Phalgune Deepak, Ogundare Matilda Olajumoke, Sable Vaidehi
Health System Support Unit, Public Health Foundation of India, Pune, India.
Chairman, Janaseva Foundation, Pune, India.
Indian J Dent Res. 2019 May-Jun;30(3):332-336. doi: 10.4103/ijdr.IJDR_356_17.
There have been numerous studies of oral health status of school children and young population; however, similar studies in elderly population in India are lacking. With advances in medical science and consequent increase in life expectancy, elderly population is on the rise and is a subject of growing concern for public health policy. Hence, an attempt was made to study factors influencing decayed, missing, and filled teeth (DMFT) index, oral health awareness, and dental treatment-seeking behavior of elderly population.
A cross-sectional community-based survey was conducted between September 2014 and December 2014 in villages in rural Maharashtra. Sociodemographic and health-related information were collected from 352 participants 60 years of age and above in 10 villages.
Prevalence of dental caries was 76.4% in a study population with median DMFT score of 12 with interquartile range of 7-22. The majority of the participants cleaned their teeth with fingers using charcoal and mishri. Only 17.2% participants used toothbrush. About 39% participants had experienced dental pain, of which majority did not visit dentist. The median DMFT index who used toothbrush and toothpaste was significantly less when compared with participants who did not use tooth brush and tooth paste. The majority of the participants had one or more missing teeth, but only 2.2% were using dentures.
There is an urgent need for comprehensive oral health educational programs, and accessible and affordable oral health services to be provided to rural community.
已有众多关于学龄儿童和年轻人群口腔健康状况的研究；然而，印度老年人群体的类似研究却较为匮乏。随着医学科学的进步以及随之而来的预期寿命增加，老年人口数量在上升，这成为公共卫生政策日益关注的主题。因此，本研究旨在探讨影响老年人群体龋失补牙（DMFT）指数、口腔健康意识及寻求牙科治疗行为的因素。
2014年9月至2014年12月期间，在马哈拉施特拉邦农村的村庄开展了一项基于社区的横断面调查。从10个村庄的352名60岁及以上参与者处收集社会人口统计学和健康相关信息。
研究人群中龋齿患病率为76.4%，DMFT得分中位数为12，四分位间距为7 - 22。大多数参与者用手指蘸着木炭和冰糖清洁牙齿。仅有17.2%的参与者使用牙刷。约39%的参与者经历过牙痛，其中大多数未去看牙医。与未使用牙刷和牙膏的参与者相比，使用牙刷和牙膏的参与者的DMFT指数中位数显著更低。大多数参与者有一颗或多颗牙齿缺失，但仅有2.2%的人使用假牙。
迫切需要为农村社区提供全面的口腔健康教育项目以及可及且负担得起的口腔健康服务。
