Eftersom medellivslängden ökar och de egna tänderna behålls högre upp i åldrarna finns det en ökad kariesrisk hos de äldre. Syftet med litteraturstudien var att redogöra för riskfaktorer som påverkar kariessituationen hos äldre personer. Ytterligare ett syfte var att ta reda på vilka tänder och tandytor som främst drabbas av karies. Studien genomfördes som en allmän litteraturstudie. Databaserna PubMed och Cinahl användes. Artiklar publicerade år 2000-2010 inkluderades. Total ingick 15 artiklar i resultatet. Resultatet visade att kost, mediciner, saliv, bakterier, gingivala retraktioner, egenvård, rökning, avtagbara proteser, protetiska kronor och antalet kvarvarande tänder var riskfaktorer som kunde orsaka både kron- och rotytekaries hos äldre. Rotytan, ocklusalytan och lingualytan samt de ytor som var belägna i direkt relation med lagningar var de ytor som främst drabbades av karies. De mest utsatta tänderna för kariesangrepp var molarerna, premolarerna samt caninerna. Många olika faktorer bidrar till en ökad kariesrisk hos äldre. Flertalet studier redovisade ett samband mellan gingivala retraktioner och rotytekaries. Majoriteten av det granskade materialet visade att rotytan var känslig för kariesangrepp. Framförallt var molarerna utsatta för kariesrisk hos äldre.

As life expectancy increases and our teeth are retained to a higher age, there is an increased risk of caries in the elderly. The purpose was to describe risk factors that affect the caries situation in the elderly. Another purpose was to find out which teeth and tooth surfaces are mainly affected. This study was carried out as a general literature review; PubMed and Cinahl were used. Articles published 2000-2010 were used. A total of 15 articles were included. The results show that diet, medications, saliva, bacteria, gingival recession, self-care, smoking, removable prostheses, prosthetic crowns and the number of remaining teeth are various risk factors that can cause both crown and root surface caries in the elderly. Those surfaces that were mainly affected by caries were root surface, the occlusal surface and the lingual surface, as well as the surfaces that are directly related to fillings. The teeth most vulnerable to caries were the molars, premolars and canines. Several studies showed a relationship between gingival recession and root surfaces caries. The majority of the reviewed articles showed that the root surfaces were susceptible to caries. It was primarily molars that were exposed to caries in the elderly.