Oral hygiene and oral symptoms among the elderly in long-term care

ABSTRACT Dental teams examined 1,910 elderly adults living in long‐term care settings (1,358 institutionalized, 552 home‐bound) from all 19 counties in Norway to document oral hygiene, oral symptoms and ability to receive dental treatment. The Mucosal‐Plaque Score (MPS) was used to assess oral statu...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Special care in dentistry 2004-09, Vol.24 (5), p.254-259
Main Authors: Henriksen, Birgitte Moesgaard, Ambjørnsen, Eirik, Laake, Knut, Axéll, Tony E.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Aged
Aged, 80 and over
Dental Care for Aged
Dental Plaque Index
Dentistry
Female
geriatric
Geriatric Assessment
home-bound
Homebound Persons
Homes for the Aged
Humans
institutional
Long-Term Care
Male
Mastication
Mouth, Edentulous - epidemiology
Norway - epidemiology
oral
Oral Hygiene - statistics & numerical data
population
Toothache - epidemiology
Xerostomia - epidemiology
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Summary:ABSTRACT Dental teams examined 1,910 elderly adults living in long‐term care settings (1,358 institutionalized, 552 home‐bound) from all 19 counties in Norway to document oral hygiene, oral symptoms and ability to receive dental treatment. The Mucosal‐Plaque Score (MPS) was used to assess oral status. The MPS was significantly better in women than in men, in individuals with dentures than in those with any remaining teeth, and in people who were homebound rather than those who lived in institutions. The MPS did not differ between age groups or geographic regions. According to the Treatment Ability Index, nearly a quarter of the sample was able to receive comprehensive dental care. Reports of “any oral symptom” and “eating/chewing problems” decreased with age and were most prevalent for individuals who had dentures. The MPS had only slight impact on oral symptoms, chewing ability and dry mouth (p > 0.05). Dry mouth was found in 16.9% and was most prevalent in individuals with dentures.
ISSN:0275-1879
1754-4505
DOI:10.1111/j.1754-4505.2004.tb01702.x