Ten-Year Incidence of Tooth Loss and Dental Caries in Elderly Swedish Individuals

There has been a significant reduction in edentulism and the elderly retain more teeth into old age. The 10-year incidence of tooth loss, coronal and root caries was studied in a random sample of inhabitants of Göteborg, who were 55, 65 and 75 years old at baseline. Of the 208 persons examined at baseline, 102 (49%) participated in the follow-up examination: 56, 37 and 9, respectively, in the different age groups of 65, 75 and 85 years. In addition, for the purpose of time-trend comparisons, a new random sample of 98 individuals aged 55 years was examined. The mean numbers of remaining teeth were 24, 23, 17 and 14, respectively, in the age groups of 55, 65, 75 and 85. The corresponding mean numbers at baseline were 23, 19 and 17, respectively, in those subjects who were then 55, 65 and 75 years old. Forty-eight percent had lost no teeth during the 10-year period, while 13% had lost more than 2 teeth. The major reason for tooth extraction was dental caries and it was found in 60% of all cases. The incidence of coronal caries decreased, while that of root caries increased with age (p < 0.01). Comparing the same age groups, the frequency of root caries had decreased during the 10-year period. It could be concluded from this study that elderly people were determined to retain their teeth for as long as possible, but dental caries may be a problem among the very old.