Edentulism and nutritional status of institutionalized elderly in Bauru, Brazil

Objective: The objective of this study was to explore the association between tooth loss and nutritional status in institutionalized elderly people in the city of Bauru, São Paulo State, Brazil, through epidemiological analysis.  

Method: A cross-sectional population oral health survey was conducted in 2010 in institutionalized elderly. The sample consisted of 95 subjects aged 60 years and over, of both sexes, stratified according to tooth loss and nutritional status. The elderly were categorized according to the partial or total edentulism. Weight and height were used to calculate the body mass index and participants categorized as normal weight, underweight and overweight/obesity. Epidemiological analysis was conducted according to World Health Organization criteria to determine prevalence of dental caries and edentulism. Chi-square test was used to check differences between strata.

Result: Tooth loss was observed in the whole sample, partial (45.26%) or total (54.74%). According to body mass index, 38.95% were normal weight, 36.84% were underweight and 24.21% were overweight/obesity. Most elderly with total edentulism presented underweight (46.15) and elderly with partial edentulism presented normal weight (44.19). However, differences were not statistically significant (p>0.05). DMFT index for the whole sample was 28.22. Elderly with underweight showed the highest DMFT, 28.97, although this difference was not statistically significant (p>0.05).

Conclusion: There was high prevalence of edentulism and individuals with underweight in this study. There is need to implement rehabilitative actions, with the aim of improving the state nutritional and quality of life of institutionalized elderly.