by Susan Griffith

Elderly female dental patients have greater concerns than their male counterparts in more than a dozen areas of oral health-but dental students failed to perceive this gender disparity or assigned differences where there were none in nearly half of those areas, according to a recent survey by the Case Western Reserve University School of Dentistry.

Marsha Pyle, associate dean of academic affairs at the Case School of Dentistry, and Eleanor Stoller, the Selah Camberlain Professor of Sociology in the College of Arts and Sciences, administered at 22-question survey to a group of 103 adult dental patients 55 years and older from the Cleveland area.

They also asked 113 second-, third- and fourth-year dental students 46 questions that covered the same survey items in order to understand student perceptions about geriatric dentistry and incorporate the different values and perceptions of patients into the school curriculum.

"The data indicate that there are specific areas of oral health care that are perceived differently between students and senior citizens," Pyle said. "We want to help the practitioners of tomorrow better serve the growing older population."

In the patient survey, female patients placed greater importance than male patients on 15 items, including the areas of broken front teeth, fresh breath, avoiding fillings in the back teeth, pain in the jaw, ability to smile without worry and avoiding the loss of teeth.

The two patient groups showed no differences in avoiding severe toothaches, need for dentures, missing teeth in front, sleeping without pain, ability to chew and keeping teeth even if they are bad.

Dental students failed to anticipate this disparity or assigned gender differences were there none in nine of the 22 items.

In the survey, students said they did not expect a gender difference in the value of maintaining oral health in the back teeth, but female patients rated the concern higher than male patients. In four items dealing with missing teeth, dentures and pain, students predicted gender disparity, but female and male patients showed no significant differences in their responses.

"These data underscore the importance of incorporating additional information on gender into a geriatric dentistry curriculum that can better sensitize students to the life factors that impact older male and female patients' perspective on oral care treatment," Pyle said.

Return to the online edition of the 8-21-03 Campus News.

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