Locker D, Ford J, Leake J L
Community Dental Health Services Research Unit, Faculty of Dentistry, University of Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
J Dent Res. 1996 Feb;75(2):783-9. doi: 10.1177/00220345960750020801.
Data on the incidence of tooth loss in community-dwelling older Canadians have not previously been reported. Since recent US studies of older adults were conducted in predominantly rural communities, their results may not be generalizable to Canada, where the majority of older adults live in major metropolitan or urban settings. This paper describes a study designed to estimate the incidence of tooth loss in older Canadians and to identify factors predictive of that loss. Using personal interviews and clinical examinations, we obtained baseline and three-year follow-up data from 491 dentate subjects. Overall, 23.2% lost one or more teeth between baseline and follow-up. Only six, or 1.2%, became edentulous. Twelve baseline factors were significantly associated with the probability of loss. However, in a logistic regression analysis, only five had significant independent effects. These were gender, marital status, self-rating of oral health status, the number of decayed root surfaces, and a mean periodontal attachment loss of 4 mm or more. The predictive ability of the model was poor, largely because tooth loss is a complex outcome which depends on decisions taken by dentists and patients. Since this decision-making process cannot be captured in epidemiological studies, observational studies are needed to cast further light on tooth loss in this population.
此前尚未有关于加拿大社区居住的老年人牙齿脱落发生率的数据报道。由于美国最近对老年人的研究主要在农村社区进行，其结果可能不适用于加拿大，因为加拿大大多数老年人生活在主要大都市或城市地区。本文描述了一项旨在估计加拿大老年人牙齿脱落发生率并确定预测牙齿脱落因素的研究。通过个人访谈和临床检查，我们从491名有牙受试者那里获得了基线数据和三年随访数据。总体而言，23.2%的人在基线和随访期间掉了一颗或多颗牙齿。只有6人（即1.2%）变成了无牙状态。十二个基线因素与牙齿脱落的可能性显著相关。然而，在逻辑回归分析中，只有五个因素具有显著的独立影响。这些因素是性别、婚姻状况、口腔健康状况自评、龋坏牙根面数量以及平均牙周附着丧失4毫米或更多。该模型的预测能力较差，主要是因为牙齿脱落是一个复杂的结果，它取决于牙医和患者所做的决定。由于这种决策过程无法在流行病学研究中体现，因此需要进行观察性研究以进一步了解该人群的牙齿脱落情况。
