The study was performed in Guntur district of Andhra Pradesh. It was a cross sectional study done on rural elderly subjects to identify the utilization of oral health care services and the barriers for utilization. A pilot study was done on 50 subjects to check for practicality of the study schedule and to identify areas where modifications are required. Based on the results of the pilot study, the sample size was determined as 614.

The study area was stratified into 13 rural clusters of which 50 houses were randomly selected from each stratum. All the elderly subjects, as defined by the age criteria followed in this study, who were available at home on the day of data collection and willing to participate were included in the study. Subjects who were not local to the area, physically and/or mentally challenged subjects were excluded from the study. A total of 621 elderly, including both the genders, were interviewed by a single calibrated examiner over a period of four months which was from October, 2014 to January, 2015.

Data were collected from 10 to 15 subjects per day. It took 15-20 minutes to collect and record data for an individual on an average. The study involved completion of a structured questionnaire which included demographic information and information on visits to dentist, experience of dental problems, oral hygiene practices, factors influencing utilization of oral health care services, adverse habits. The demographic data included name, age, gender, religion, education, income, occupation, etc. The questionnaire was translated to the local language of the study area for administering to the elderly. The questionnaire was administered by the interviewer as more than half of the study population were illiterates. The questionnaire was piloted on a sample of 50 subjects for validity and reliability. It provided a reliable, valid tool which was easy to administer with a kappa statistic of 0.78.

The data were analysed using SPSS version 20 software (IBM Corp. Released 2011. IBM SPSS Statistics for Windows, Version 20.0. Armonk, NY: IBM Corp.). Descriptive statistics, Chi-square tests were used to analyse the data. p-value ≥ 0.05 was considered significant. The study protocol received ethical approval from the institutional ethical committee of SIBAR Institute of Dental Sciences. The study purpose was explained to all the participants and informed consent was obtained. The socio-economic status of the study population was assessed using Kuppuswamy scale.

Of the 621 participants, 55.5% were males and the mean age of the study population was 64±7.68 years with an age range of 55-86 years. [Table/Fig-1] shows the demographic details and oral hygiene practices of the study participants segregated by age group. A majority of participants (55.5%) belonged to the age group of 55-64 years, followed by 65-74 years (33.2%), and 75 and above (11.3%). A 67.3% of the study participants were Hindus, 6.5% were Muslims, and 26.2% were Christians. Only 31.9% of participants reported visiting a dentist in the past while 36.7% reported experiencing a dental problem at some point in their life. Toothache and decayed teeth were the most commonly remembered dental problems, and extraction was the most commonly undergone treatment. [Table/Fig-2] shows the differences in utilization of dental services and perceived barriers for utilization among the three age groups of the study population. There were no significant differences in utilization of dental services based on gender, socio-economic status, age groups, and religion as shown in [Table/Fig-3]. There were significant differences in utilization of dental services based on the response of participants to past experience of dental problems [Table/Fig-3].

Studies on patterns of utilization and barriers for utilization provide a basis for formulation and execution of oral health promotion programs. The patterns of utilization and the barriers depend on a multitude of factors, and age finds a definite place among these influencing factors [15–18]. Elderly people often are considered a burden to the society owing to their high treatment needs. Though there are commonly used connotations of the term “old age”, there is no general agreement on the age at which a person becomes old. Developing countries differ from developed countries in the way they define old age. In developing countries, old age is considered to begin when it is no longer possible for the individual to actively contribute, whereas the definition for old age rests on the foundation of chronological milestones that mark life stages in developed countries [19]. Thane 1978 considered old age to occur between 45 and 55 years for women and between 55 and 75 years for men [20]. However, these classifications are arbitrary and gets complex where international comparisons have to be made. This becomes even complicated in countries like India where the exact age of individuals is not known owing to the lack of an official birth record [21]. It was projected by UNICEF that 41% of births in India are unregistered [22]. So, framing a definition for old age in Indian context is too complex and we have considered 55 years to be the denotation for elderly or old aged in this study which is in accordance with a study done in United States of America [23]. Across the globe, the oral health status of old aged population is poor which is evident from the intensity of edentulism, high dental caries experience, and poor periodontal health etc. According to the world oral health report, 2003 the prevalence of edentulism in India among people aged 65-74 was 19% [24]. In the present study, only 36.7% of the subjects expressed that they had faced dental problems in the past. Only 31.9% reported that they had a dental visit in the past. However, the percentage of Indian population aged 65-74 years with treatment needs relating to oral health was 80.5% as of 2002-2003. This percentage was even higher in Andhra Pradesh with the value being 87.2% [8]. The mismatch between peoples’ perceptions, attitude towards oral health care and the estimated treatment needs is quite obvious and must be seriously looked into as a failure of oral health promotion.

In a study conducted by Wu B on Chinese elderly in 2007, it was observed that only 3.4% of the rural elderly had a dental visit in the past one year [25]. Though the present study did not seek information regarding dental visits within the previous year, the low utilization of oral health services allowed comparison between these two studies. As reported by Clemencia M. Vargas et al., dental visits among elderly Americans was high with more than 50 percent of the non-institutionalised elderly aged 65 and above visiting a dentist in the previous year [10]. Similarly, about 46.5% of the Brazilian elderly (aged 65-74) had had a dental appointment in the last two years and 27.8% of the sample had used the services within the preceding year as reported by Cláudia de Oliveira Ferreira in 2013 which is way higher than that observed in the present study, especially in view of the fact that the current study sought information on dental visits anytime in the past but not just past year visits [26]. It is also important to identify that the study area has a very close access to oral health services provided by a teaching based dental institution which might have increased the utilization among the study subjects. It is our inference that the overall rate of oral health services utilization among rural elderly could be lower than that reported in the present study.

No significant differences in utilisation of dental services were found between participants from different age groups, gender and different socio-economic statuses. These results are not in accordance with the study done by Cláudia de Oliveira Ferreira in 2013 on Brazialian elderly where significant differences were found in utilisation of dental services based on the socio-economic status of the study population [26]. However, there was no difference in utilisation based on gender in this study. There was no significant association between level of education and utilization of oral health services in this study which is not in accordance with a study conducted by Roberts-Thomson K et al., in 1995 in Australia, where participants who continued their education beyond sixteen years of age were 1.85 times more likely to have visited a dentist in the past year than those who had never attended school or had quit at age 15 [27].

Edentulism affects the quality of life of the individuals in a multitude of ways [28]. As could be anticipated, lack of required dental care leads to the eventuality of edentulism. There could be many reasons for not seeking required care, one of which could be not realizing the requirement of care itself. Petersen and Yamamoto highlighted in their report on approach on global oral health that developing countries have a dearth of epidemiological data regarding tooth loss at old age [3]. They further underscored that there exist numerous barriers for access to oral health services in developing countries and often times pain, discomfort and non availability of dental materials were the reasons for extraction of teeth.

Extraction was the most common treatment undergone in the present study. A 59% of those who sought dental care have undergone extraction. A 51.1% of the participants who reported previous dental visits sought care at a teaching based dental hospital. This could be due to the proximity of the dental institution to the study area, and a vast majority of participants opined that the treatment provided was satisfactory.

Fear was one of the most commonly reported barriers for utilisation of dental services among dentate older people [29]. A 20.5% of the elderly participants in this study reported fear as a reason for not seeking dental care despite perception of dental problems. The perceived importance of dental care has emerged as a significant predictor of utilization in other studies [11]. In the present study, 39 individuals did not seek dental care despite perceived problems, 50% of whom opined that oral health is not very important to be taken care of.

The present study did not seek information regarding dental visits within the previous year which would be a more reliable estimate of utilization patterns in the study population. Systemic disabilities were not taken into consideration which may hamper the utilization of oral health care services by elderly.

Elderly people after making significant contributions to the development of society must not be considered as a burden. Studies probing into the barriers for utilisation of oral health services and oral health status among elderly are very important in order to bring a change in their oral health status towards the better and to ensure them a good oral health related quality of life.