Dental And Prosthodontic Status Among Adult People In Qindao

Object:This study aims to (1) describe the dental status using DMFT, also differentiating between the three dental regions (anterior, premolar and molar regions), and the relative chance of teeth in these regions for being decayed, missing, or filled; (2) to determine associations of various demographic and socio-economic factors with DMFT.Methods:Cross-sectional DMFT and tooth replacement data of 1588 subjects aged over 40 years from rural and urban region of Qingdao (Shandong Province, China) were collected by means of structured questionnaires and oral examinations. Relative D, M, and F scores per dental region were determined and compared by paired T-tests. Multivariable logistic regression analyses were performed to determine relationships between the background variables age, gender, place of residence, and socio-economic status (SES).Results:The mean number of decayed and filled teeth was low (1.36 and 0.27 respectively) at all ages. Molars had higher chance for decay and missing than premolars and anterior teeth, and higher chance for fillings than anterior teeth. For the molar region every additional year of age gives significantly lower chance for decay and higher chance for missing (OR: 0.984 and 1.018 respectively; both P<0.01). Mean number of missing teeth was associated with age varying from approximately 1.5 in each jaw at 40 years to 6 at 80 years. Females had higher chance for having decayed (OR:1.34; P≤0.05) and filled teeth (OR:1.69; P≤0.01), and less chance for missing teeth (OR:0.60; P≤0.01). Urban subjects had similar chance for decayed teeth as rural subjects, but approximately 5 times more chance to have fillings and approximately 2 times less chance to have tooth replacements (both P<0.01). SES had no relationship with decayed and missing teeth but subjects with SES low had less chance to have filled teeth (OR:0.45; P≤0.01). Replacements were significantly associated with the background variables:age for all dental regions except in the anterior region, gender for all dental regions, place of residence for the whole dentition and for the molar region, and SES for the whole dentition and the premolar and molar regions.Conclusions:The majority of adults over 40 years presented a reduced dentition. Molars were the most frequently affected tooth type by decay and tooth loss. Decayed, missing, filled, and replaced teeth were associated with the background variables, however differently for different dental regions.