Oral Health Status in the Elderly Priests in Bangkok
Prapatsorn Ploysangngam DDS*, Sermsiri Subhakorn MSc* Nucharee Pongnarisorn MSc*, Saeng Jaturanon DDS*, Somchai Chaisupamongkollarp DDS*
Affiliation : * Dental Department, Priest Hospital
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.
Keywords : oral health, DMFT, CPITN, priest, elderly
