Edentulism and self-perception of oral health in adult and geriatric patients

Abstract

Objective: to evaluate the self-perception of oral health in adult and geriatric patients, totally and/or partially edentulous, treated at the Clinical School of Dentistry of the CESMAC University Center. Material and Methods: cross-sectional observational study. A total of 102 patients from the Clinical School were evaluated. The prosthesis need index was used, which determined the increase of edentulism estimated the problem severity in the sample. Data were recorded in an individual clinical record during each patient examination. Results: it was possible to identify that, for the research subjects, keeping the teeth has contributed to improve social relations and health, whereas teeth loss was associated with multiple negative feelings regarding interpersonal relationships. Conclusion: the way the individuals under scrutiny understood and assessed oral health self-perception seems to be influenced by factors such as educational level and socioeconomic conditions. Aspects like appearance, mastication, and phonetics did not negatively affect individuals. On the other hand, data concerning interpersonal relationships and oral health were conclusive and showed the unfavorable behavior of the sample regarding social relations.

Keywords

• odontologia geriátrica
• autoimagem
• saúde bucal