Oral lesions in elderly patients of a community in Brazilian Northeast

Abstract

To investigate the oral soft-tissue injuries in people aged 60 or older. Cross-sectional research conducted with 262 elders aged 60-93 years (mean 69.84, SD ± 6.212) from the Dende community in Northeast, Brazil. Data were collected through an identification questionnaire and the Community Indicator in Oral Health. Data were computed by the Software SPSS, version 15. There was a predominance of female gender (64.1%), retired, low schooling and income of up to one minimum wage. It was detected a prevalence of soft-tissue injuries in 38.4% (n = 101) of the elders, distributed as follows: red spots 60(57.7%), blisters 20(19.2%), lesions and/or wound 16(15.4%), and white spot 8(7.7%). Among the elders, 40(15.3%) smoked and 20(7.6%) used alcohol. It was verified a statistical association between injuries and using prosthesis (p = 0.039), medicine (p = 0.023) and calculus (p = 0.016). The oral health of this population is precarious, and there is a high prevalence of oral lesions.