[Comparative assessment of the intensity of caries among dental patients of older age groups in need of removable prosthetics, registered by a phthisiatician and their perception of an artificial ageist situation.].

Improving the quality of life of older age groups is an urgent problem of medicine, including its components: gerontology, phthisiology and dentistry. The objectives of the study are: to establish the importance of tuberculosis as an infection that causes the intensity of caries among patients of older age groups; assessment using the Palmore scale of gerontological ageism «The ageism survey» and patients' perception of an artificial situation of age inequality. The study involved elderly (n=122) and senile (n=121) persons with partial secondary adentia who needed removable dentures. The control groups of older people included patients who denied being under the supervision of a phthisiologist, and the study groups confirmed this. To solve the first problem, a comparative assessment of the values of the components of the CPI index in the control and study groups was carried out. To solve the second problem, an artificial situation of age inequality was simulated in the process of dental admission. The results of its effects were evaluated based on the response of patients to questions № 9, 10 of the Palmor scale. The absence of a difference in the values of K and N components between the control and study groups indicates the absence of a significant effect of mycobacteria on the development of caries. The large values of component Y in the studied groups may indicate the detrimental effect of mycobacteria on periodontal disease. The absence of an increase in the intensity and stability of the perception of age inequality among patients who are under the influence of an artificially created situation proves the great effectiveness of background age inequality. At the same time, it is impossible to exclude the low sensitivity of the Palmor scale in the process of diagnosing age inequality in Russian society.