Oral mucosal conditions and risk factors among elderly in a Turkish school of dentistry.

BACKGROUND: Prevalence studies are important to determine the oral health status and treatment needs of elderly people. Our aim was to obtain data for the prevalence of oral mucosal conditions (OMC) in a Turkish elderly sample and to compare our results with different geographic regions.

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this clinical-based study was to determine the prevalence of OMC and associated risk factors in a clinical-based Turkish elderly sample.

METHODS: The study sample consisted of 700 patients >60 years old. The clinical examination of patients was performed by both authors. All participants were questioned about their general health status, medication use, oral hygiene habits, tobacco or alcohol use, use of dentures, and the length of denture use. Chi2 Pearson's test with Fisher's exact probability test was used to analyze the data. Logistic regression models were used to assess the influence of independent variables; odds ratios were calculated with 95% confidence intervals. Statistical significance was defined as p <0.05.

RESULTS: OMC were recorded in 40.7% of the study sample. The logistic regression model revealed that male gender, length of denture use, smoking habit, and being a former smoker increased the probability of having an OMC. Smoking habit also increased the risk of having leukoplakia. The denture-related lesions accounted for 36.4% with the length of denture use and diabetes mellitus being significant risk factors for denture stomatitis and denture hyperplasia. The model for traumatic ulcer included medication use as a significant risk factor.

CONCLUSIONS: Our results regarding an elderly Turkish sample support the studies of other populations where the prevalence of OMC was related to length of denture use, smoking, and gender. We also observed some important associations between denture-related lesions, systemic diseases, and medication use which require further investigation.