Objective:

Compare the quantity and characteristics of partial and total removable dental prostheses, in the dentistry service of the National Hospital of Geriatrics and Gerontology, in the period from January 1, 2005 to December 31, 2008. The database of the specialized outpatient dentistry service of the patients treated from 2005 to 2008 was taken, in which a total of 2786 removable dentures were delivered.

Materials and methods:

Based on the previous data, the non-random sample was selected for convenience until reaching the size of 599 protheses of 326 files, with a confidence level of 99% and a sampling error of 0.0466. Data collection was carried out through the Microsoft Excel program where a table was used in which the file number, date of start and conclusion of the prosthesis, type of prosthesis, amount and color of prosthesis, age, gender and address were used of the patient by district, canton and province. The processing was carried out by means of descriptive statistics using tables and graphs.

Results:

It was determined that the highest percentage of the age range of people who requested removable prostheses was 62 to 65 years, the patients that required two prostheses were 273 of 326. In their majority, the patients requested total prostheses for a total of 372 of 599 prostheses delivered.

Of the color guide used in the HRBC, the most requested colors were the light yellowish-white tones corresponding to the number 62 and 65; of the files analyzed, most of the patients resided in San José with a total of 200 patients.

Conclusion:

It is concluded that the highest percentage of edentulism that is presented is total edentulism with 62%, the most commonly used prosthesis is the removable upper total prosthesis and for the most part patients require two prostheses, with respect to color it is inconclusive for this study due to data not available in the analyzed files.