Enfrentando as perdas dentárias na terceira idade: um estudo de representações sociais

Abstract

The present study seeks to understand tooth loss by investigating the social representations in the daily life of elderly individuals. The Free Association of Words Test was used, whose inducing stimulus were the words “tooth loss”, in which each subject was asked to associate 3 words, to respond to a questionnaire related to socio-economic and odontological status and a focus group interview. The study sample consisted of 120 individuals 60 years of age or over, resident in Natal, RN, Brazil and participants of the “Live Together to Live Better” group of the Basic Health Unit of Felipe Camarão Residential District and Unati (Open University of the Elderly); an interview was performed with 36 subjects. Data analysis was performed using the Evoc 2000, SPSS 10.0 and Alceste softwares. The central nucleus of the social representations of tooth loss for the “Live Together” group emerged from the difficulty in eating categories, showing a relation between physiologic necessity, desire and pleasure from eating, not to mention the pain that resulted from justifying the tooth loss, both categories comprised the class themes of the group interview. For the Unati group the central nucleus emerged from the socio-economic difficulties categories, demonstrating a narrow relation between poverty, access to health and education and esthetics, confirming in the discourse of common sense, the association between tooth loss and aging, these categories constitute the class themes of the of the group interview. Thus, through the study of the social representations, we can reveal a reality in the perspective of the social subjects, contemplating the multiple facets of the social-cultural reality experienced by these individuals.