Prevalence of Dentate Elderly and the Relationship of Number of Remaining Teeth and Oral Health Related Quality of Life of Elderly People in Kota Bharu Kelantan, Malaysia

Objective: The aim of this study was to determine prevalence of dentate elderly and the relationship between the number of remaining teeth with oral health related quality of life (OHRQoL) among elderly aged 60 years and older in Kota Bharu, Kelantan. Design: This cross sectional study involved 506 randomly sampled community-dwelling elderly in Badang district. Materials and methods: Consented participants were interviewed at their homes in the local dialect by a single trained interviewer. Impacts of oral conditions were gathered using the Malay translated version of the Short Oral Health Impact Profile [S-OHIP(M)]. Oral examination was carried out to record dentate status. Results: The prevalence of dentate elderly was 44.1% (95%CI = 39.69, 48.52) and mean age was 68.1 (SD 7.02) years. The mean number of remaining teeth was 12.0 (SD = 8.37) and 76.4% of participants have 20 or less teeth. Significant impacts were noted in four items of S-OHIP(M) which were 'difficulty in chewing' (p < 0.001), 'uncomfortable to eat' (p < 0.001), 'food stuck in mouth' (p = 0.001) and 'avoid food' (p, < 0.001). Conclusion: The number of remaining teeth was significantly related to total S-OHIP(M) score. For every one tooth present OHRQoL improved by 0.15 units. Further research is required to probe into factors influencing the OHRQoL among adults and intensive efforts are needed to educate them to retain as many natural teeth into old age.