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Chief Complaints, Dental Health Status And Dental Treatment Needs In Elderly Patients, Aree Jainkittivong, Vilaiwan Aneksuk, Robert P. Langlais

Chulalongkorn University Dental Journal

Objective The aims of this study were to investigate the principal oral complaints, dental health status and dental treatment needs in elderly patients. Materials and methods The study sample consisted of 484 dental patients who were 60 years of age and older. Interviews were conducted to identify the oral complaints whereas the dental health status and dental treatment needs were assessed by oral examination. Results There were 17 principal oral complaints identified; and the four leading problems were faulty prostheses (21.1%), pain or/and swelling (16.3%), tooth loss or inefficient chewing (16.1%), and broken teeth and restorations (11.6%). There were more …