ORIGINAL ARTICLE: EPIDEMIOLOGY, CLINICAL PRACTICE AND HEALTH Geriatric oral health predicaments in New Delhi, India Abhinav Singh, 1 Bharathi M Purohit 2 and Nitin Masih 3 1 Department of Dentistry, All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) – Bhopal, Under Ministry of Health & Family Welfare – Government of India, 2 Department of Public Health Dentistry, People’s College of Dental Sciences, Bhopal, and 3 Department of Public Health Dentistry, ESIC Dental College & Hospital, Ministry of Labour & Employment, New Delhi, India Objectives: The aim of the present study was to analyze geriatric oral health predicaments in India. Specifically, to assess the oral health status and treatment needs among the geriatric population attending health camps in New Delhi, Northern India. Methods: The sample size for the cross-sectional study comprised of 248 elderly participants aged 60 years having attended the health check-up camps organized in New Delhi, India. The community periodontal index was used for assessment of periodontal disease. The World Health Organization’s criterion was used for detection of dentition status and treatment needs. The χ 2 -test was used to compare between categorical variables. The Mann–Whitney U-test was used to compare between two groups for quantitative variables. Regression analysis was carried out to identify the factors associated with dental caries and periodontal disease status. Results: The mean number of affected sextants with the highest community periodontal index score of 4 was 3.54 ± 2.45. Mean decayed, missing and filled teeth score of 16.39 ± 8.97 was recorded among the elderly. Prosthetic need was noted among 206 (83.1%) participants. Age and literacy status contributed to 27% and 12% of the variance respectively in the decayed, missing and filled teeth model. (P < 0.001) Major contributory factors in the periodontal disease model for the 37%, 11% and 11% variance were age, sex and tobacco consumption (P < 0.001). Conclusion: Two striking features of the study were the high levels of unmet prosthetic needs and the extremely low utilization of dental care. There is an urgent necessity to resolve the high burden of unmet prosthetic need among the aged in India. Geriatr Gerontol Int 2016; 16: 37–45. Keywords: dental care for elderly, developing countries, geriatric dentistry, public health dentistry. Introduction The aging phenomenon has transpired as a significant health issue of the 21st century. This rise in life expec- tancy is attributed primarily to the substantial reduction in mortality at different stages of life, which has been brought about by improved healthcare facilities, sanita- tion, environmental and public health reforms coupled with better hygiene and living conditions. 1 It is now recognized that although both developed and develop- ing countries are experiencing growing proportions of older adults, developing countries are currently aging faster than developed countries. Two-thirds of the world’s elderly live in developing countries that are less prepared to deal with this aspect of population dynamics compared with the developed world. 2 This is a huge population that must receive attention from policy- makers across the world who are or will be challenged by the changing demands for social and health services including oral health services. India has attained the tag of an aging nation, with the elderly population in 2013 being over 8% (100 million), and is anticipated to increase to 20% (325 million) by 2050. 3 India’s population is likely to increase by 60% between 2000 and 2050, but the number of older adults in the population who have reached 60 years-of-age will shoot up by 360%. One salient feature regarding the elderly population of India is that the rate of growth of the elderly population is a great deal more rapid than the growth of the total population. 4 Poor oral health has been reflected as a risk factor for general health problems in the geriatric population. 5 Oral diseases are complex, multifactorial and Accepted for publication 22 October 2014. Correspondence: Dr Abhinav Singh BDS MDS, Department of Dentistry, All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) – Bhopal, Ministry of Health & Family Welfare – Government of India, Bhopal 462001, India. Email: drabhinav.singh@gmail.com Geriatr Gerontol Int 2016; 16: 37–45 © 2015 Japan Geriatrics Society doi: 10.1111/ggi.12434 | 37