The dental prosthetic status of psychiatric in-patients in South Wales

Aim: To assess the dental prosthetic status of a sample of psychiatric in-patients in South Wales; the objectives were to evaluate the conditions of the dentures and to assess the patients’ satisfaction with the dentures. Design: Examination of patients was carried out in seven psychiatric hospitals in South Wales, and included the prosthetic status and presence of oral pathology. Patients were also questioned regarding satisfaction with their dentures. Subjects: The total patient population of the hospitals involved in the study was 429, and 326 subjects (70%) took part. The mean age of the subjects was 71.1 years, with 265 long stay and 61 short-stay patients. Forty-seven per cent of patients had a psychiatric diagnosis of dementia, 23% of schizophrenia and 19% of depressive illness. Results: Of the 326 subjects, 63% were edentulous, and of these, 32% of subjects were wearing dentures. Forty-two per cent of the dentures were judged to be clean, and 66% of dentures did not have identification marks. Soft tissue lesions were identified in 17% of the edentulous subjects. Eighty-four per cent of the patients were happy with their dentures and did not want any treatment. Conclusions: A high proportion of the study population was edentulous, and approximately one third of these were wearing dentures. A large majority of patients were happy with their dentures and did not want treatment of any kind. A moderate number of soft tissue lesions were found in the edentulous subjects.