A number of factors influence the caries experience and the pattern of restorative care especially in the older age group.

Objective: To evaluate the dental caries experience and restorative treatment needs of an elderly Indian population and to study the impact of socio-demographic variables, oral hygiene practices, oral habits and dietary practices on them.

Design: A community-based study.

Setting: An urban area in the south zone of Delhi and a cluster of four villages in its neighbourhood.

Subjects: A total of 1240 elderly subjects, 716 urban and 524 rural, were included in the study.

Results: Of the 1052 dentate elderly subjects, 676 (64.2%) had decayed teeth (66.7% root caries and 33.3% coronal caries), 69 (6.6%) had filled teeth and 17 (1.6%) had recurrent decay. Restorations were indicated in 233 (22.2%) subjects, endodontic treatment in 51 (4.8%) and extractions in 424 (40.3%). Urban-rural differences in caries experience were statistically significant. Multivariate regression analysis showed that dental caries was associated with literacy level, oral hygiene practices, oral health perception and diet, while previous restorative treatment was correlated only with location (urban-rural) and presence or absence of systemic diseases.

Conclusion: Dental caries prevalence was high amongst the studied elderly population and significant differences were observed in those living in a rural compared with an urban setting. Only a small percentage of elderly had evidence of previous restorative treatment whereas their unmet treatment need was significant.