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Edentulism and oral health problems among elderly rural Iowans: the Iowa 65+ rural health study.

R J Hunt, J D Beck, J H Lemke, F J Kohout and R B Wallace

A household health interview survey of 3,673 noninstitutionalized people aged 65 and over in two rural Iowa counties included questions about loss of teeth, use of dentures, and presence of oral health problems. Edentulism rates were 10-15 per cent lower than those found a decade earlier in national health surveys. A log-linear analysis found that the best demographic predictors of edentulism were education, age, and marital status. Spouses tended to be of similar dentition status, i.e., both edentulous or both dentate. No association was found between the loss of teeth and prevalence of digestive problems. Only 7 per cent of the edentulous people felt they needed to visit a dentist, even though 70 per cent had not seen one for over five years. About 40 per cent had dentures that were over 20 years old, with half of these being over 30 years old. Many dentures were loose and causing soreness in the mouth or difficulty in eating. These elderly people appeared to expect some problems with dentures and oral pain and accepted them without feeling a need to seek treatment.

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