Dental prosthetic status and prosthetic need of the institutionalized elderly living in geriatric homes in mangalore: a pilot study.

Introduction. To promote oral health among the elderly, we need to know their prosthetic status and prosthetic need. Hence, a survey of prosthetic status and need of elderly inmates of old age homes in Mangalore was done. Materials and Methods. A cross-sectional study was undertaken, and 133 subjects aged 60 years and above were examined (54.9% males and 45.1% females). Results. Eighty-eight percent of those examined were fully edentulous, and only 12% had complete dentures; none of the study subjects had partial dentures. Prosthetic status was significantly associated with gender (P = .024), while prosthetic need and gender were not significantly associated (P = .395). Conclusions. A high unmet need for prosthetic care existed among the institutionalized elderly surveyed.