Dental prosthetic status and prosthetic needs of geriatric patients attending the College of Dentistry, Al Jouf University, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the dental prosthetic status and prosthetic needs of geriatric patients attending the College of Dentistry, Al Jouf University, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Patients aged 60 years and above were included in this study. The World Health Organization oral health assessment pro forma was employed to record the data pertaining to the prosthetic status and prosthetic treatment needs of participants. Data obtained were analyzed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS, Chicago, IL, USA) Version 20.0. Differences in proportions were compared using the Chi-square test. RESULTS: Out of 286 edentulous patients, 69.06% needed some form of prosthetic treatment, 73.77% did not have any prosthesis in upper arch, and 80.06% did not have any prosthesis in lower arch. Out of 162 males, 32.09% and 26.54% had prosthesis in upper and lower arch, respectively. Among 124 females, 18.54% and 19.35% had prosthesis in upper and lower arch, respectively. In males, the need for any type of prosthesis in upper and lower arch was 68.51% and 75.92%, respectively. In females, the need for prosthesis in upper and lower arch was 57.25% and 72.58%, respectively. The need for multiunit prosthesis was more in both arches in both genders. The need for complete denture and combination of single- or multiunit prosthesis was more among the males as compared to females in maxilla and vice versa for mandible. CONCLUSION: The observations of this study propose that the greater part of the prosthetic needs were insufficient among the geriatric people.