The aim of this study was to investigate the self-perception of oral health in a population of community-dwelling elderly in Montes Claros city, MG. The research aimed further to investigate the existing association between self-perception and sociodemographic characteristics, dental needs, systemic conditions and medication use in those individuals. This is a cross-sectional study with a simple random sample (n=204). The self-perception was assessed using the Geriatric Oral Health Assessment Index (GOHAI). According to the results, 53.9% of the elderly were female, 53.9% were not married, 57.8% were aged between 60 and 69 years old, 84.9% were not white, 69.1% were illiterate, 56.4% had an monthly household income > ½ minimum wage, 59.8% went to the dentist for 3 years of more, 52.9% had a last consultation in the public service, 63.7% were edentulous, 67.2% used some type of dental prosthesis, 77% needed dental prosthetic. Of them, 81.4% had no alteration in soft tissue, 31.9% had periodontal disease, the CPO-D medium was 29,39, 91.2% had systemic disease, 78.4% used medication and most (36.3%) self-perceived oral health as a regular. In the multivariate analysis, it was found that the older people that needed some kind of dental prosthesis and had no spouse were more likely to have a low self-perception of oral conditions. Overall, it was observed that most elderly people had a satisfactory socioeconomic status, had dental needs, had any systemic disease, used medication and self-perceived oral health as fair or poor, consistent with the professional assessment.
Delivery of Health Care; Self Concept; Health of the Elderly; Self-assessment; Elderly; Oral health
