Impact of Edentulism on the quality of life of elderly primary care users

Abstract

INTRODUCTION: Edentulism is known as a chronic process of dental loss, which accumulated during life, causes greater consequences in elderly individuals, such as inefficiencies of masticatory, phonetic and aesthetic functions. Studies on edentulism in the elderly are justified in the observation of limitations of oral health policies and popular knowledge on the subject. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the impact of lack of teeth on the quality of life of elderly users of basic care. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A cross - sectional study was carried out with 108 elderly users of primary care in the city of Caicó, Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil, who had no teeth (partial edentulism) or all teeth (total edentulism). The data were collected through visits to the Basic Health Units, applying a structured questionnaire and the GOHAI (Geriatric Oral Health Assessment Index) instrument to verify the impact of the lack of teeth on the quality of life of the elderly. RESULTS: The majority of the elderly are female (60%) and have a low educational level (70.4%). Partial edentulism was prevalent in 64.9% of the sample, whose number of missing teeth is between 12 and 22 (60.1%). The lack of teeth had a negative impact on the quality of life of the elderly, obtaining a GOHAI of 29.32 points. The impacts on systemic health are observed with the prevalence of chronic diseases (59.2%) and high Body Mass Index (BMI) among the elderly interviewed (60%). CONCLUSIONS: The lack of teeth had a negative impact on the quality of life of the elderly interviewed.