[Dental health and the state of oral hygiene in an elderly population in Rome].

The purpose of this study was to investigate dental conditions and oral hygiene in a population of 369 elderly people residing in Rome--293 females and 76 males--aged between 60 and 99 years (mean 81.9 +/- 8.1). The sample was interviewed following a dental examination. Clinical tests revealed that 40% were totally edentulous, whereas subjects with natural teeth had a mean of 11.4, teeth, of which 1.5 were decayed. Oral hygiene habits were investigated by means of questions on use of dental tools (toothbrush, mouth-wash, dental floss), which were not much used. Moreover, many elderly people reported they had not been to the dentist's recently (86.2% during the last year) because they did not feel it necessary. From this study a rather low level of oral health has emerged, along with a limited knowledge of prevention for dental and periodontal diseases. These results show the need of dental treatment and prevention for the elderly population.