A Study to evaluate the Frequency and Association of Various Mucosal Conditions among Geriatric Patients

Abstract

ABSTRACT Geriatric dentistry or gerodontics is the delivery of dental care to older adults involving the diagnosis, prevention and treatment of problems associated with normal aging and age-related diseases as part of an interdisciplinary team with other health care professionals. Aim To evaluate the oral mucosal status in the elderly population of different age group and find out the association of age, gender and denture with oral mucosal disorders. Materials and methods The study sample consisted of 570 geriatric persons concentrating mainly on the oral mucosal changes or lesions occurring in the geriatric population. Individuals those are aged above 60 years were selected, and all the examined geriatric persons were categorized into 3 age groups to find out the association of oral mucosal lesions in each group. Group I—60 to 65 years, Group II—66 to 70 years, Group III—71 and above years. Results The sample of 570 elderly patients included 279 (48.95%) men and 291 (51.05%) women in three age groups: 61 to 65 years (40.35%), 66 to 70 years (31.05%), and 71 years and older (28.60%). The sample included 254 (44.56%) dentate patients, 205 (35.96%) denture wearers (partial and complete denture wearers) and 111 (19.47%) edentulous persons who lacked dentures in both the jaws. Almost half of the patients examined (48%) had one or more oral mucosal lesions. The 48% of the patients who presented with oral mucosal lesions, twenty five different oral mucosal conditions were identified and the three most common findings were lingual varices (13.68%), denture induced inflammatory fibrous hyperplasia (4.21%), squamous cell carcinoma (4.21%). There was some differences in the distribution of oral mucosal condition among the sexes. Leukoplakia and dysplasia were significantly associated with men (p < 0.001) whereas the association of fibroma and lichen planus with women were significant (p < 0.001). Conclusion In our study it was found that patients in groups II and III had more prevalence of oral mucosal disorders. Lingual varices, oral squamous cell carcinoma, fibroma and denture induced inflammatory fibrous hyperplasia were more commonly associated with the geriatric patients. The oral lesions (fibroma and lichen planus) were strongly associated with women while leukoplakia was strongly associated with men. Ageing is an important factor that can influence the occurrence of mucosal lesions and with age the oral mucosa becomes more permeable to noxious substances and more vulnerable to external carcinogens. How to cite this article Shet RGK, Shetty SR, M Kalavathi, Kumar MN, Yadav RD, S Soumya. A Study to evaluate the Frequency and Association of Various Mucosal Conditions among Geriatric Patients. J Contemp Dent Pract 2013;14(5):904-910.