Due to the increasing number of older people, there is a need for studies focused on this population. The aims of the present study are to assess oral and systemic conditions in individuals aged 60 to 95 years with access to dental insurance.
Probing depths (PDs), tooth loss, alveolar bone levels, and systemic health were studied among a representative cohort of older individuals.
A total of 1,147 individuals in young-old (aged 60 or 67 years), old (aged 72 or 78 years), and old-old (aged =81 years) age groups were enrolled, including 200 individuals who were edentulous, in this study. Annual dental care was received by 82% of dentate individuals. Systemic diseases were common (diabetes: 5.8%; cardiovascular diseases: 20.7%; obesity: 71.2%; elevated C-reactive protein [CRP]: 98.4%). Serum CRP values were unrelated to periodontal conditions. Rates of periodontitis, defined as =30% of sites with a distance from cemento-enamel junction to bone of =5 mm, were 11.2% in women in the young-old age group and 44.9% in men in the old-old age group. Individuals in older age groups had a higher likelihood of periodontitis defined by bone loss and cutoff levels of PD =5 mm (odds ratio: 1.8; 95% confidence interval: 1.2 to 2.5; P