Oral health status and oral health behaviour of middle-aged and elderly people in PR China

Abstract

The aims of this study were to describe the oral health status among 35-44 and 65-74-year-old urban inhabitants in PR China; to evaluate the pattern of oral health behaviour in relation to socioeconomic characteristics and to assess the relative effect of socio-behavioural risk factors on caries experience. In the middle-aged, 61 per cent had caries compared with 95 per cent of the elderly. Ninety per cent of individuals at age 35-44 and 77 per cent at age 65-74 had maximum CPITN score 2. Differences in caries and CPITN were found according to sex and location. With respect to the sociological data, relatively positive attitudes to dental health care were found. Conversely, the oral care habits were poor; less than half of the participants brushed their teeth at least twice a day, dental attendance rates within the past year were 22 per cent for the middle-aged and 35 per cent of the elderly. Analyses of dental caries experience revealed that dental visits, gender, occupation and attitudes to dental health were the most important independent variables among the younger adult group. The establishment of community based oral health care is urgertly needed in order to control oral disease.