Changes in dental conditions during a decade in a middle-aged and older Swedish population

A questionnaire measuring dental conditions was sent to 2708 individuals aged 55–79 years in O¨rebro County, who about 10 years earlier had been randomly selected for a similar study. The response rate was 68% (1848 individuals). Of those, 1665 had participated also in the 1989 study. The objectives were to study changes in dental conditions having occurred during a decade and to evaluate whether impairment in dental conditions among the participants had resulted in prosthodontic treatments. Only small changes in dental conditions were registered among those who participated both in 1989 and in 1999. Loss of a single tooth was the most frequently reported change. Ten per cent fewer reported that they had all teeth remaining in 1999 compared with conditions in 1989. The number of subjects wearing removable dentures increased only slightly. Although the reported changes in dental conditions were small, there had been a need for prosthodontic treatment in many of the subjects. Ten percent of the subjects reported that they had received FPD treatment during the past 10 years. To conclude, the present study showed that only small changes in dental conditions had occurred among the participants during a decade. Nevertheless, a substantial increase in the prevalence of prosthodontic appliances, especially of fixed restorations, was noted.