Assessment of Nutritional and Psychosocial Status of Elderly Patients Wearing Removable Dental Prosthetics.

INTRODUCTION

Tooth loss is an age-related problem. As age advances, people's ability to maintain their teeth is affected due to their reduced physical capacity and income. After fitting dentures, resuming a healthy diet can help alleviate a variety of discomforts, both psychological and physiological. The present study was conducted to evaluate the nutritional and psychological status of elderly patients with removable dentures.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

A longitudinal study was conducted among 502 elderly participants to assess their nutritional status and psychological impact on elderly people who recently underwent denture placement. The data regarding nutritional status and its psychological impact due to tooth loss were collected from participants, and after 3 months of adaptability, postdenture data were collected. The survey was conducted in five parts, including initial demographic analysis, nutritional status, and psychological impact before and after denture wearing.

RESULTS

Most participants noticed a substantial increase in food consumption after wearing dentures to 59.76%. About 39.64% of the participants were reported to be skipping their meals regularly before wearing the denture. There was a significant increase in participants' ability to eat hard food, which accounts to be by 66.53%. There was an improvement in confidence in their smile by 32.87% of the participants after wearing dentures compared with their previous state. Only 34.66% of participants were worried about wearing dentures in public.

CONCLUSION

Removable dentures in senior persons had a substantial impact on nutritional balance. The study also claims that wearing a complete denture improves edentulous people's psychological well-being and quality of life.