Traumatic oral mucosal lesions in elderly dental patients - An institutional study

Abstract

Oral trauma in elderly population constitutes an increasingly recognized problem. Aging results in a progressive decline in cellular function, which leads to loss of their capacity to respond to an injury. The aim of the study is to check the prevalence of traumatic oral mucosal lesions in elderly population/patients visiting a dental clinic. Elderly patients with oral mucosal lesions reported to dental hospitals were selected. Data from 86000 patients visiting Saveetha Dental College during the time period of June 2019 to March 2020 were reviewed, and the data was collected. This is a single centred retrospective study conducted in a private dental institution, Chennai. The collected data were tabulated and analysed using SPSS software by IBM. Out of 80 patients, 56.3% of the patients were of age 60 to 65 years. 42% of the patients had Denture stomatitis which was the highest among all the traumatic oral mucosal lesions. Males were more prevalent to oral mucosal lesions with 57.5% than females. The most common site with oral mucosal lesions is palate with 44%. The overall prevalence of traumatic oral mucosal lesions in the elderly population is high. Denture stomatitis is the most commonly occurring oral traumatic mucosal lesion among elderly patients visiting the dental clinic.