Stomatological disorders in older people: An epidemiological study in the brazil southern

BACKGROUND: The aim of this retrospective, cross-sectional and observational study was to perform a survey of the stomatological conditions of elderly patients seen in a period of 40 years at a Stomatology Service in Southern Brazil. MATERIAL AND METHODS: A total of 24,347 medical records were reviewed, of which 5,063 belonged to elderly patients aged 60 to 97 years. The stomatological conditions, systemic conditions, and smoking and alcohol drinking habits as well were recorded. RESULTS: The mean age of the patients was 69.29 years, 67.1% were female and 32.9% were male. Variations of normality accounted for 44.5% of the cases. The most prevalent disorders were fungal infections (26.1%), reactive inflammatory lesions (24.6%), burning mouth syndrome (14.9%), benign neoplasms (12.4%), autoimmune disorders (12.3%), premalignant lesions (10.2%) and malignant epithelial neoplasms (7.2%). Regarding biopsied lesions, squamous cell carcinoma was the most prevalent at 30.2%, followed by hyperplasic lesions (28.2%). CONCLUSIONS: Knowledge of these physiological and pathological conditions in the oral cavity of the older people is essential for early diagnosis and preventive and therapeutic measures when necessary. Key words:Oral mucosa, aged, oral medicine, elderly, oral lesions.