Abstract
The aging society in Japan has resulted in a marked increase in the number of elderly patients seeking dental treatment. In the present study, we investigated successive changes in the average age of insertion of prosthesis, and examined the influence of aging. The investigation focused on inlays which are thought to be the preceding stage of all prostheses, crowns, bridges, partial dentures, and complete dentures, that were placed in patients at Osaka Dental University Hospital between June 1997, and May 2005. In addition, we examined the average age of insertion of these prostheses. The result showed a significant increase in the average age of inlays, crowns, and partial dentures throughout the investigation period, but no significant change was observed in bridges and complete dentures. This is considered to be due to the different reasons for renewing each prosthesis. A decrease in the number of missing teeth was observed despite a minor difference among different prostheses. Based on these results, we predict there will be an increase in the number of bridges and partial dentures in the future, and a decrease in the number of complete dentures.
