engleski

A 5-year prosthodontic appliance distribution study in elderly in Croatia

Objectives: Due to dramatically increasing number of elderly in overall population the need for prosthodontic appliances increase respectively. The aim of this investigation was to determine the 5-year distribution of various prosthodontic appliance in older age cohort, subventioned by the Croatian Institute for Health Insurance/ CIHI /. Methods: Data on various prosthodontic appliances subventioned by the Croatian Institute for Health Insurance /CIHI/and delivered to patients of 50 years of age and older in all regions of Croatia in the period 2002-2006 was obtained, divided into 4 age cohort and statistically analyzed relative to age group and gender. Result: Most of the fixed prosthodontic appliances were delivered in the age group of 70-80 year old (30.13%), and the most frequently used appliance was veneered crown, which was delivered 77251 times. The least frequently used fixed prosthodontic appliance was full metal modified crown which was delivered 597 times. The most frequently delivered appliance in all age group were partial removable dentures (382456 deliveries).There were no statistically significant differences (p>0.05) between the Croatian regions regarding appliance distribution relative to the population size. The oldest age group (80+) showed the least appliance deliveries. Conclusion: Significantly less deliveries in the oldest age cohort compared to other groups (p<0.05) suggest that the oldest elderly patients tend to maintain prosthodontic appliances for a longer period than functionally acceptable. The need for fixed and removable prosthodontics services will increase in the future as the result of preventive programs in dentistry and increasing number of elderly.

Elderly; prosthodontic appliance; epidemiology

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