Geriatric Prosthodontics in a Developing Country

With the developments in medical sciences, the vision of prevention, early diagnosis and better treatment of diseases have become a reality. Accordingly, the proportion of older people has started to grow world-wide, especially in developing countries which has confronted both the societies and the governments with specific challenges. Due to the increase in life expectancy and improvements in public medical services, elderly subjects tend to retain their natural teeth for longer. Being dentate is only an advantage if there is some benefit to the patient in terms of function, esthetics or satisfaction. It is well known that tooth loss can give rise to various problems associated with not only systemic, but also functional and psycho-social issues. Oral rehabilitation including the utilization of dentures has long been advocated as an effective measure to reduce the burden associated with tooth loss. If quality of care for elderly patients is to be achieved, thorough and realistic prosthodontic treatment planning is essential. This requires mature consideration, incorporating comprehensive patient assessment and selection of the most appropriate treatment option for each patient. Identification of the factors that influence tooth loss and denture wear is important for the effective dental planning and provision of oral health services, particularly prioritizing prosthodontic care for the elderly. The most appropriate dental treatment plan for an elderly should be based on the criteria which meet the demands of a healthy dentition and which enable a patient to acquire satisfactory oral function. The criteria of selecting the most appropriate-cost effective treatment options and related clinical cases will be discussed in the presentation.