Published online:
30 June 2014
Oral Health in Advanced Age: Findings from LiLACS NZ presents key findings about the oral health of Māori (aged 80 to 90 years) and non-Māori (aged 85 years).
The findings are from a population-based sample of people in advanced age living in the Bay of Plenty, who are taking part in a longitudinal study of advanced ageing, called Life and Living in Advanced Age: a Cohort Study in New Zealand – Te Puā waitanga O Ngā Tapuwae Kia Ora Tonu (LiLACS NZ).
The report is available on the LiLACS NZ publications website
Overview of key findings
- Three-quarters (76%) of people of advanced age wore full or partial dentures. Significantly, more women than men wore dentures.
- Maori living in socioeconomically deprived areas were less likely to wear dentures than non-Māori living in socioeconomically deprived areas.
- 24% of people of advanced age reported having difficulty chewing; the most common reasons were poorly fitting dentures and missing teeth.
- Less than a third of people of advanced age had visited a dentist in the previous 12 months. Māori were significantly less likely to have visited a dentist (18%) than non-Māori (34%). People without dentures were more likely to have visited the dentist than those with dentures in the previous 12 months.