Compared analysis of elderly’s oral health in Araçatuba-SP city, Brazil

Abstract Based on health public policies for the elderly, established by the Brazilian Health Ministry, this paper analyses the elderly’s oral health program, showing the Brazilian reality, which lacks preventive, curative and educational treatments. This research created an instrument to assess the oral situation of the elderly in Araçatuba city, through questions on the socioeconomic profile, oral situation, and use of services rendered by the municipal health service. We searched for data to subsidize projects of public policies that meet this population’s needs. Results showed that more than 80% of seniors are toothless, 77% use dental prostheses despite the fact that most live on their minimum-wage pensions, which many times are the main family income and have no access to specific public rehabilitation services and are illiterate. We come to the conclusion that the elderly in Araçatuba still do not have access to the preventive, curative, educational and rehabilitation treatments.