2012 Volume 55 Issue 1 Pages 46-52
We surveyed the current number of teeth and survival rate by tooth type using panoramic images of elderly patients. Eight hundred and twenty-one patients (378 males and 443 females, ≥60 years) who had visited the hospital of Matsumoto Dental University from August 2007 to December 2010, who had undergone panoramic imaging for diagnosis of dental treatment, and who consented to participate were enrolled in this study. The proportion who maintained ≥20 teeth was higher compared with the results of the Japanese national survey on dental diseases in any age group: it was 83.2% in those aged 60-64 years, 72.9% in 65-69 years, 56.3% in 70-74 years, 39.6% in 75-79 years, 40.4% in 80-84 years and 25.9% in ≥85 years. The current survival rate of the teeth was higher among anterior teeth and canines, with the highest rate of 91.1% for mandibular canines and 85.4% for mandibular lateral incisors. The lowest survival rate was 52.4% for mandibular second molars and 53.0% for mandibular first molars among molar teeth. The current survival rate of teeth tended to be higher compared with the results of the Japanese national survey, because of improvements in dental health activities and dental health awareness in elderly patients who had visited the hospital of Matsumoto Dental University.
