Sociodemographic determinants of usage of complete dentures in a Nigerian teaching hospital: A pilot study

Objective: To determine the sociodemographic factors that affects the usage of complete dentures. Material and Methods: A structured questionnaire was administered to edentulous patients seen in a prosthetic outpatient department of the Lagos University Teaching Hospital, Lagos, Nigeria. Complete dentures were fabricated, assessed, and fitted, and the patients were followed up for six months. Information sought included demographics of the subjects, their socioeconomic status, reason for demand for complete dentures, and important considerations for its use. Data were analyzed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences version 16.0 (SPSS 16). The level of statistical significance was set at P Results: Thirty patients participated in the study. The mean age of patients seen was 63.30 ± 17.67 years. Grouping of subjects into socioeconomic levels by occupation showed that one-third (33.3%) was classified as dependent. Twenty-one patients (70%) requested for both upper and lower dentures, six patients (20%) wanted upper dentures only, and three patients (10%) requested for lower dentures only. The commonest reason for demand for complete dentures was mastication (100%), followed by aesthetics (63%). The reasons for the use of dentures were basically aesthetics and mastication. Conclusion: Demand for complete dentures was greater among those 60 years and above. Age, gender, and socioeconomic status of patients had no statistically significant effect on the reason for demand for and usage of dentures.