28 July 2010
Ambala, India
A SURVEY was conducted by the Department of Public Health Dentistry, MM University, Mullana, to assess the oral health status and treatment needs of aged people.
As many as ten homes in Ambala, Yamunanagar, Panchkula, Kaithal and Kurukshetra were taken up as sample for the study and people aged 60 years and above were examined. Dr K L Veeresha, heading the Dentistry department, gave details about the project on Tuesday.
According to the survey, 47.4 per cent of the total number of patients examined had no functional teeth, 26.9 per cent of them didn’t use any oral hygiene measures, 19.1 per cent used dentures, 36.8 per cent had never visited a dentist in their life and 28.7 per cent were suffering from dental problems.
It was further reported that most of these patients were suffering from hypo or hypertension, and diabetes. Smoking, chewing tobacco, and consuming alcohol were the prime causes for the occurrence of oral cavities and teeth degeneration, he said.
Giving stress on education regarding oral hygiene, Veeresha said regular check-up was needed, as the survey disclosed the fact that aged people usually do not visit a dentist regularly.
Disclaimer: The news story on this page is the copyright of the cited publication. This has been reproduced here for visitors to review, comment on and discuss. This is in keeping with the principle of ‘Fair dealing’ or ‘Fair use’. Visitors may click on the publication name, in the news story, to visit the original article as it appears on the publication’s website.
