Oral health problems and needs in nursing home residents in Northern Italy.

Abstract

OBJECTIVE:

To describe the oral health status and treatment needs of a sample of elderly people residing in nursing homes in Northern Italy.

RESEARCH DESIGN:

a sample of 595 elderly residents (mean age 83.2+/-9.2 yrs), with adequate cognitive skills were examined by six calibrated dentists.

RESULTS:

The sample (82% women) was divided into two groups: edentulous (43%) and dentate. In the edentulous group 58% wore dentures in both jaws, 8% in only one jaw and 34% had no dentures. The main problems were dirty or loose dentures and poor oral hygiene. In the dentate group the mean number of teeth was 8.4+/-7.4, 53% wore dentures (removable, fixed or a combination). Poor oral hygiene was found in 86%, root caries in 51% and coronal caries in 46%. Their main needs were professional cleaning (72%), oral hygiene instructions (62%) and tooth/root extractions (56%). While normative needs were noted for 82% of the whole sample, oral treatment needs were accurately perceived by only 20% of residents, poorly by 24%, while 46% indicated that they had no oral treatment needs.

• Authors: R Ferro, A Besostri, L Strohmenger, L Mazzucchelli, G Paoletti, A Senna, E Stellini, S Mazzoleni
• Journal: Community dental health (Community Dent Health) Vol. 25 Issue 4 Pg. 231-6 (Dec 2008) ISSN: 0265-539X [Print] England
• PMID: 19149301 (Publication Type: Journal Article)

Topics

• Aged
• Aged, 80 and over
• Cross-Sectional Studies
• DMF Index
• Dental Caries (epidemiology)
• Denture Repair
• Dentures (statistics & numerical data)
• Female
• Health Services Needs and Demand (statistics & numerical data)
• Humans
• Italy (epidemiology)
• Male
• Middle Aged
• Mouth Diseases (epidemiology)
• Mouth, Edentulous (epidemiology)
• Nursing Homes
• Oral Health
• Oral Hygiene
• Self-Assessment
• Tooth Extraction