Assessment of Depression and Attitude Towards Missing Teeth Replacement in Geriatric Patients

Aim: To assess depression and attitude towards replacement of missing teeth in Geriatric patients attending a dental college. Materials and Method: The study was conducted in a private dental college, Chennai. For this study, 100 geriatric patients was randomly selected. Geriatric patients with physical and mental disabilities were excluded for the study and those above 60 years or above were included for the study. Two sets of questionnaires were used for the study - One was the Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS) and the other was a questionnaire based on attitude towards replacement of missing teeth. All the data were collected, analysed and frequency distribution of the data was calculated. Results: From this study, it was found that 63% of the old aged participants were leading a depressed life and around 61.2% of them were not interested in replacement of missing tooth/teeth. Out of which, 45.6% of them showed lack of interest towards the same which indicates the fact that depression indirectly affects their attitude to address their needs such as replacement of missing tooth/teeth. Conclusion: The above study clearly states a relation between depression and replacement of missing tooth/ teeth in geriatric patients. The clinical significance of this study is that it is essential to create awareness regarding depression and old age and importance of replacement of missing tooth/teeth among the general public. It is necessary to educate the society regarding the various replacement techniques.