The oral health of 140 independent elderly volunteers, selected from different sections of Edmonton, Alberta, was assessed in conjunction with their nutritional and medical status, in an attempt to evaluate the dental needs of this population. Dental caries was assessed using WHO standards and the CPITN was used in assessing periodontal and gingival health needs. The mean age of the participants was 70.9 +/- 2.6 years. The average time since they had last seen a dentist was 3.0 +/- 6.2 years. Twenty-six percent of the group were edentulous and wore full dentures. An evaluation of denture hygiene and retention showed that 53 per cent of all maxillary and 57 per cent of all mandibular appliances exhibited poor hygiene; 33 per cent and 54 per cent, respectively, had problems with retention and/or occlusion. Only 12 per cent of the group exhibited any sort of mucosal pathology, all of which was related to ill fitting dentures. The total population had a mean of 15.0 +/- 11.1 teeth, only 0.5 of these were decayed, while 8.9 were restored. CPITN scores taken from a total of 511 sextants with standing teeth showed that 16 per cent of the group exhibited bleeding upon probing, 29 per cent had calculus, 13 per cent exhibited pocketing, while 3.6 per cent had deep pockets. Sixty-seven per cent of the population required dental treatment, none of whom needed emergency intervention. Over 49 per cent of the dentate population could benefit from prophylaxis; 16 per cent required more definitive periodontal treatment. Forty-five per cent of the denture population required treatment.