Prevalence and severity of dental caries among pensioners in Benin City, Nigeria.

Unlabelled: The aim of the current study was to describe the prevalence and severity of dental caries among a cross section of elderly pensioners from three groups of different work background in Benin City, Nigeria, as part of a general assessment of their oral health status.

Subjects And Methods: A cross-sectional descriptive survey of two hundred and fifty-two pensioners (182 males and 70 females) aged 50-85 years selected by stratified and systematic random sampling were studied. A self-administered structured questionnaire was used to obtain demographic data. The subjects were examined clinically for dental caries by a calibrated examiner using the diagnostic criteria described by the World Health Organization.

Results: The mean age of the pensioners was 61 years (SD = 6.19) and the total mean values for DMFT 1.45 (SD = 2.28) with 48% caries-free subject (females 51.4% and males 46.7%). Males had a higher mean DMFT (1.56) than females (1.18). The teaching hospital pensioners had lower DMFT (0.90, SD = 1.15) than university (1.46, SD = 2.42) and general (1.70, SD = 2.53) pensioners. 64% of the pensioners had very low caries severity.

Conclusion: In conclusion the prevalence of dental caries is moderate and the severity is very low with high burden of untreated caries. There is an urgent need to set up caries control programmes including the use of atraumatic restorative treatment to protect the oral health of the growing number of the elderly pensioners.