The long-term objectives of this project are to contribute to the establishment of a database defining the oral health of older adults and to help establish a baseline of data for addressing the issue of dental manpower requirements for older adults in the 21st century.
The specific aims are: (1) measure the prevalence and incidence of certain oral conditions, namely coronal caries, root-surface caries, periodontal attachment level, gingival bleeding, denture assessment, calculus assessment, and oral soft-tissue lesions, in the general community-dwelling population of adults age 55-79 year; (2) Measure whole unstimulated and stimulated saliva flow rates; and (3) Collect relevant demographic and dental history data for the same subjects as in Specific Aims No. (1) and (2). A study population of approximately 2,200 subjects ranging in age from 55- 76 at the outset will be recruited from among ambulatory, community- dwelling people in the Greater-Rochester area and from among outpatients at the Veterans Administration Medical Center in Canandaigua, New York. The subjects will be placed in age-specific cohorts and followed longitudinally for a period of 3 years. Data will be collected, as per the three Specific Aims, at baseline, 18 months, and 36 months. A vigorous follow-up and tracking system will be employed to maintain the size and cooperation of the study population throughout the duration of the study. The examination protocol used by the 1985-86 NIDR Adult Survey will be followed [Specific Aims no. (1) and (3)]. The sample size remaining after 3 years will be sufficient for carrying on longitudinal data collection beyond the period of original funding.
