Objective: To describe the oral health status of the elderly priests in Bangkok.
Material and method: The elderly priests aged 60 and over in Bangkok were clinically examined at Priest Hospital using methods recommended by the World Health Organization. Information on oral health behavior was obtained via questionnaires.
Results: A totally of 714 elderly aged 60 years and above (mean = 69.5 +/- 6.7) were examined. About 13.2% were edentulous. The mean DMFT score was 16.9 (DT=2.6, MT= 13.2, FT= 1.0). The mean number of DMFT and MT increased according to age, with MT dominating in the DMFT index. The prevalence of decayed and filled root among the elderly priests was 10.6 with the mean DFT-root at 0.3. The percentage of the elderly priests with shallow and deep periodontal pockets decreased with age from 42.5% to 21.2% among the elderly aged 60-74 and 75 and above, respectively. Obviously, tooth loss became a problem among the elderly priest. 13.2% of the participated priests were edentulous. The mean number of remaining teeth was 18.6 teeth person. This figure decreased with age. Only half of the elderly aged 60-74 and one-third of the older aged 75 years and more had functional teeth at least 20 natural teeth. In addition, the elderly priest needed more extraction for 2.2 teeth per person.
Conclusion: Tooth loss or tooth mortality amongst the elderly priest in Bangkok should be a concern in the situation where the elderly has a trend to live longer. To manage tooth loss problem, prevention and treatment of dental caries and periodontal disease were needed. Effective oral health education and regular dental checkups should be emphasized.