Oral health and apraxia among institutionalized elderly people—A pilot study

Abstract

Objective. Poor oral hygiene and dental health are very common among the institutionalized elderly. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the association of apraxia with oral hygiene and/or health. Materials and methods. Ninety-two residents of 13 long-term care homes in southwest Germany participated in the study. For each participant, ideomotor apraxia scoring (AS) was conducted and demographic variables were collected. Participants underwent a comprehensive dental examination to assess the oral health indices gingival bleeding index (GBI), community periodontal index of treatment needs (CPITN) and denture hygiene index (DHI). Statistical comparison of dental indices among apraxic and non-apraxic individuals (cut-off < 45) was performed by use of t-tests. In addition, linear regression models were constructed with the dental indices as dependent variables. Each model was fitted with the dichotomized variable AS (pathologic or healthy) and adjusted for age and sex. Results. Mean (SD) GBI of 48.5 (25.9), CPITN of 2.9 (0.7) and DHI of 82.6 (14.6) were observed among the participants. Statistical analysis revealed AS was significantly associated with all oral health indicators (p < 0.05). Linear regression models showed apraxia is a predictor of GBI (p = 0.002) and CPITN (p = 0.027), but not of denture hygiene (p = 0.916). Conclusions. Although this pilot investigation has limitations, the results suggest the presence of apraxia should be considered when planning oral healthcare strategies. Further research with larger samples is encouraged to confirm these relationships.     

Comparison of oral and general health development among institutionalized elderly people

This investigation comprises a longitudinal (2 yr) study of development in oral and general health among 100 institutionalized elderly people in Gothenburg. The aim of the study was to photographically document variations in oral health in relation to variation in the general health of these individuals during the period of the project. Changes noted from one examination to the next were limited to a judgment of an "unchanged", "deteriorated", or "improved" status. Medical analyses were based upon information collected from medical charts and the subjective impressions of the care staff, and odontological analyses were based upon photographic screening according to a set of given criteria. Results demonstrated a relation between developments in oral and general health among older people. The strongest relationships were registered between changes on the tongue and general health. The project has shown that a standardized photographic follow-up of health developments in oral tissues can be a valuable aid in cooperative efforts between medical physicians and dentists regarding health supervision of the elderly.     

Relationship between dental care and oral health in institutionalized elderly people in Japan

This study examined the relationship between dental care and dental health status in institutionalized elderly people in Japan through a 6-year prospective cohort study. All the 719 subjects received both baseline and follow-up surveys. The uptake of dental care was examined at the follow-up survey. We examined the relationship between baseline variables and the provision of dental care, and the relationship between dental care and change of oral health status. About 47% of the subjects and about 60% of the baseline dentate subjects received some dental treatment during the 6-year follow-up period. The subjects who were in better systemic and dental health at baseline used dental services frequently. The number of teeth needing extraction decreased in the subjects who received dental treatment, and increased in the untreated subjects. Denture status was better in the treated subjects than in the untreated subjects. Dental care appears to be an important factor in maintaining a healthy oral status for the institutionalized elderly.     

Oral health conditions and denture treatment needs in institutionalized elderly people in Japan

Oral health conditions, including dental conditions, temporomandibular joint (TMJ) conditions, denture status, and oral hygiene status, were assessed on 1908 institutionalized elderly people 65 yr of age and older at 29 of the 30 existing institutions in the city of Kitakyushu, Japan. The percentage of edentulous people was 27% in the 65-74-yr-old group, and increased with age to 56% in the 85 yr and older group. In dentate persons, the mean number of remaining teeth and DF teeth were 13.4 and 8.6, 9.5 and 6.8, and 8.4 and 6.5 in the groups aged 65-74 yr old, 75-84 yr old, and 85 yr and older, respectively. 81% of all the persons examined had no unusual symptoms in their TMJ. A clicking sound was the most frequent symptom (17%). Hygiene of both their teeth and dentures was very poor. Of all the subjects, 36% needed new full and/or partial denture(s), and 41% needed only repair. When the institutionalized elderly people were compared according to their general health condition, no clear differences were observed in percentage of edentulousness, mean number of remaining teeth and DF teeth, and TMJ conditions. However, a higher level of both untreated teeth and denture treatment needs, and poorer oral hygiene, was found in elderly people having poor general health than was observed in those with better health.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

The impact of oral disease among the institutionalized and non-institutionalized elderly in Hong Kong

The study aimed to describe and compare the psychosocial and functional impact of oral disease on the quality of life of the institutionalized and non-institutionalized elderly in Hong Kong. A total of 268 institutionalized and 318 non-institutionalized elderly aged 60-80 years took part. The 49-statement Oral Health Impact Profile (OHIP) was administered in a structured interview format and sociodemographic information collected prior to a clinical, oral examination. A greater number of the institutionalized were edentulous (19%); they also had more untreated dental disease. The number of elderly reporting negative impacts was generally low. The percentage of institutionalized elderly reporting a negative impact was significantly lower in one of the OHIP subscales (handicap, P < 0.001) and similar in the other six. The main factors affecting the OHIP score were living location, socio-economic status, dental disease and treatment seeking behaviour. In conclusion, the psychosocial and functional impact of oral conditions was low and similar in the institutionalized and non-institutionalized elderly although the pattern of oral disease was different. Life events and socially and culturally derived values appeared to affect the elderly perception of the impact of oral disease.     

Intra-oral findings and general health conditions among institutionalized and non-institutionalized elderly in Greece

BACKGROUND: The aim of the study was to record the findings from intra-oral examination and the general health conditions encountered in a group of Greek individuals 65 years of age or older. PATIENTS AND METHODS: The study subjects were derived from the elderly attending 12 randomly selected community centres located in Athens and neighbouring municipalities, consisting the non-institutionalized study group and from the elderly living in three ecclesiastical nursing homes, consisting the institutionalized study group. The research data comprised information from the subjects' interviews, self-defined health status, medical records and intra-oral examination on the following variables: sex, age, general health condition, dentate or not, use of dentures and oral conditions. Fisher's exact two-sided test was used for statistical analysis. RESULTS: Overall, 316 patients were examined; 120 male (38%), 196 female (62%), mean age 78 years (range: 65-99). Of those, 150 were non-institutionalized (59 male, 91 female) and 166 institutionalized (61 male and 105 female). The vast majority (90%) of the patients had at least one general health problem, for which they were taking daily medication. Twenty-three different medical conditions were recorded. The most frequent medical problems were hypertension (56%), cardiovascular problems (41%), depression/anxiety (39%), arthritis (18.5%) and visual problems (16%). The vast majority of the study patients (79%) were edentulous, while 33% were not wearing or using their dentures. Almost half of them (47%) had at least one oral condition. Twenty-seven different oral conditions were recorded. The most frequent oral findings were denture-induced stomatitis (17.2%), dry mouth (14.6%), atrophy of tongue papillae (10.5%), fissured tongue (9.8%) and haemangioma (6.8%). No cases of malignant lesions were observed. CONCLUSIONS: The present study confirms that in this particular age group, general health problems are frequent, variable, coexistent, necessitating the daily administration of multiple medications, while oral examination by a specialist is an essential part of the multidisciplinary medical care in this group of individuals.     

Oral health screening: feasibility and reliability of the oral health assessment tool as used by speech pathologists

Background: The aim of this study was to investigate the feasibility and reliability of the Oral Health Assessment Tool (OHAT) as used by speech pathologists, to become part of a comprehensive clinical swallowing examination. Methods: A multicentre study in 132 elderly subjects was conducted by speech pathologists. The inter-rater, test–retest and intra-rater reliabilities of the OHAT were assessed in R statistics, version 3.0.1. Intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs) were used for the total OHAT, and Kappa statistics were used for the individual categories. Results: Total OHAT scores showed good inter-rater (ICC = 0.96), intra-rater (ICC ≥ 0.95) and test–retest (ICC ≥ 0.78) agreement. The inter-rater Kappa statistics were almost perfect (κ ≥ 0.83) for seven of the eight individual categories of the OHAT and perfect for ‘dental pain’ (κ = 1.00). The test–retest Kappa statistics indicated excellent agreement for ‘natural teeth’ and ‘dentures’ (κ ≥ 0.86). The intra-rater per cent agreement was excellent for all categories except ‘gums and tissues’. Conclusions: This is the first study to examine the feasibility and reliability of the OHAT as used by speech pathologists. As the results showed both good feasibility and reliability, the OHAT has the potential to add to the clinical swallowing examination. However, future research investigating actual referral strategies and adaptation of care strategies following assessment with OHAT is needed.Key words: Dental care, elderly, feasibility, oral health screening, reliability     

老年人龋病的防治重点——论老年人口腔健康标准之无龋洞

口腔健康是全身健康的重要组成部分,关注老年人口腔健康,对于维护老年人全身健康,提高其生活质量具有重要意义。那么什么情况下可以定义为老年人口腔健康呢?此前关于老年口腔健康,国内外尚未见全面的标准提出。刘洪臣于2019年结合世界卫生组织的口腔健康标准提出老年人口腔健康的10项指标,即1.牙齿清洁;2.无龋洞;3.无疼痛感;4.牙齿和牙龈颜色正常;5.无出血现象;6.牙齿排列整齐;7.不塞牙;8.无缺牙;9.咬合舒适;10.无口臭引起人们的广泛关注。本文将主要围绕十项标准中的无龋洞来讨论龋病对老年人健康的危害(面部及全身的影响)、老年人龋病的防治的重点以及探讨无龋洞的理念作为老年口腔健康标准的意义。     

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目的了解我国农村家庭成员口腔医疗需要情况和口腔医疗保健现状,探索口腔疾病发病规律,为我国口腔卫生服务决策提供信息和依据。方法以WHO口腔健康调查基本方法为标准,采用典型调查方法,于2007年2—3月在陕西省岐山县益店镇宋村,对全村共130户516人进行口腔健康调查。将口腔医疗需要情况按需要医疗的程度分为4类,分别进行口腔健康检查、填写记录。结果共有69.57%人需要定期进行口腔医疗,30.62%人需要及早口腔医疗,0.97%人需要进行口腔医疗急诊,仅有25.78%人不需要任何口腔医疗。同时发现女性的治疗需要高于男性。结论我国农村家庭成员的口腔医疗需要十分普遍,对农村女性口腔健康问题应予以特别重视。     

高龄人群口腔卫生保健情况调查

目的：了解高龄老人口腔卫生保健状况.方法：对80岁以上老年人口腔卫生知识问卷调查.结果：具有口腔健康行为的人群,其口腔健康状况良好.结论：加强口腔卫生保健知识教育,养成良好口腔行为习惯,对促进老年人口腔健康很重要.     

太原市养老机构老年人口腔健康状况的调查分析

目的了解太原市养老机构老年人的口腔保健意识及其健康状况,以针对性地开展口腔疾病的防治,提高养老机构老年人的生活质量。方法随机抽取太原市6个行政区48所养老机构内的359名老人,分别对口腔保健意识、态度及行为设计问卷调查,并进行口腔检查,所得数据通过SPSS 20.0软件进行统计分析。结果太原市养老机构老年人口腔保健意识欠缺,保健行为不规范,口腔健康状况除受刷牙习惯及口腔不良习惯的显著影响,尚与年龄、受教育程度等因素相关,55～64、65～74岁年龄组每日刷牙、曾有过口腔就诊经历的比例均低于第四次全国口腔流行病学调查数据,而无牙颌比率、缺牙未修复比率均高于同年龄组全国平均水平。结论太原市养老机构内老年人自我口腔保健意识及口腔健康状况较差,应有计划、有目的地对其开展口腔卫生宣教,帮助其养成良好的口腔卫生行为习惯,养老机构应定期开展口腔卫生检查诊疗服务,以改善老年人口腔健康状况,提高生活质量。     

Dental status, xerostomia and the oral health-related quality of life of an elderly institutionalized population

The author examined the relative effects of tooth loss and xerostomia on the oral health-related quality of life of an elderly, medically compromised population, living in a long-term care setting. Data were collected from 225 subjects (mean age: 83 years) via a questionnaire and review of dental charts. Oral health-related quality of life was assessed using self-ratings, satisfaction ratings, an index of chewing capacity, the GOHAI, and OH1P-14. Almost all participants had one or more chronic medical conditions and were taking prescribed medications. Two-thirds of the study group was dentulous with a mean number of 16 remaining teeth. One-third of the participants had scores on a xerostomia index indicating marked oral dryness. In bivariate and multivariate analyses, xerostomia index scores were significantly associated with all oral health-related quality of life outcomes. Dental status was associated with chewing capacity only. The results suggest that xerostomia has an important influence on the well-being and quality of life of this population.     

A longitudinal study of the oral health condition of elderly stroke survivors on hospital discharge into the community

AIM: To investigate the oral health of elderly stroke survivors on discharge from hospital into the community after rehabilitation and six months later compared with community dwelling elderly people without stroke. METHOD: The study took place in the rehabilitation unit of a general medical hospital in Hong Kong. It was a longitudinal study involving 43 elderly survivors of mild to moderate stroke about to be discharged from hospital after rehabilitation and a comparison group of 43 community-dwelling elderly people. Verified clinical examination techniques and measures were used to assess dental caries, periodontal disease, oral hygiene, oral candidiasis, prosthetic status/need and functional disability (Barthel Index [BI]). Socio-demographic information was also collected. RESULTS: Stroke survivors had significantly higher plaque and bleeding scores on hospital discharge and after six months compared with the control group (p<0.01). On hospital discharge, the stroke group also had a poorer periodontal condition with more 4-5mm pockets. The mean BI on hospital admission was 71 and 91 on discharge. Stroke survivors with a higher BI on discharge had lower plaque scores after six months. The tooth condition, number of functional tooth pairs, prosthetic status, presence of oral candidiasis and oral yeast carriage were similar between stroke and comparison groups. CONCLUSIONS: Despite significant objective improvement in functional ability after stroke, elderly survivors returning to the community had significantly poorer periodontal health compared with community dwelling elderly without stroke, and the situation did not improve dramatically over six months. The protracted recovery of hand, arm and oral sensori-motor function is the most likely cause.     

Improving oral health in institutionalised elderly people by educating caregivers: a randomised controlled trial

OBJECTIVES: This cluster-randomised controlled trial assessed whether oral health care education (OHCE) for nursing home caregivers would achieve improvements in clients' oral health. METHODS: Twenty-two nursing homes were randomly allocated to intervention or control group. Clients were examined at baseline and at follow-up visits 1- and 6-months after caregivers received OHCE. Main outcome measures were denture plaque, denture-induced stomatitis, dental plaque and gingivitis. Differences in group means/medians were compared with adjustment for cluster randomisation. RESULTS: Clients' baseline oral health was poor. After OHCE, the intervention group's oral health scores improved significantly. Reductions in denture plaque scores (0-4 scale) exceeded those of the control group by 1.15 (95%CI=0.83, 1.47) at 1 month and by 1.47 (95%CI=1.13, 1.80) at 6 months. Denture-induced stomatitis prevalence reduced significantly over 6 months compared to the control group (P<0.0001). Group differences in favour of the intervention group were 0.41 (95%CI=0.18, 0.65) at 1 month and 0.34 (95%CI=0.14, 0.53) at 6 months for dental plaque (0-3 scale), and 0.17 (95%CI= -0.01, 0.35) at 1 month and 0.28 (95%CI 0.15, 0.42) at 6 months for gingivitis (0-2 scale). Key differences remained significant after adjustment for clustering effects. The provider's costs would currently be approximately pounds 6700 per year to deliver the intervention to a Health Authority with 100 homes. CONCLUSIONS: Although final levels of residents' oral health were still short of ideal, this study clearly shows that, for a modest cost, OHCE can improve caregivers' knowledge, attitudes and oral health care performance for elderly, functionally dependent clients.     

Differences in oral health status between institutionalized and non-institutionalized older adults

Differences in oral health status between independent and institutionalized adults have been difficult to interpret because the latter population is typically older and has a higher proportion of women, confounding any association between institutionalization and disease levels. We undertook an analysis of oral disease amongst institutionalized (n = 149) and non-institutionalized (n = 246) samples of older adults randomly selected from the population in East York, Ontario. When the confounding effects of age and gender were controlled by constructing 67 matched pairs, institutionalized people were more than twice as likely to be edentulous (OR = 2.17, 95% CI = 1.09-4.29). This association was confirmed using data from all subjects in a logistic regression model. Analysis of covariance of data from dentate subjects revealed that the institutionalized seniors had fewer filled teeth (P less than 0.05, controlling for age and sex), but there were no statistically significant differences in the number of teeth which were missing, decayed, or requiring extraction. These findings suggest that antecedent, sociodemographic factors prior to institutionalization are responsible for the higher probability of oral disease in this group of older adults.     

Improving oral health to enhance general health in elderly people in Uruguay

A review of ways in which the oral health and general health of elderly people in Uruguay is presented. The dental profession has not yet understood the real dimension an ageing population brings with it, nor its responsibility for general and psychosocial health of older adults. Generally, Uruguay as a developing country, is increasing its social policies, therefore there is much to be done. Specifically, dentists and specialists in gerodontology are not sufficiently conscious of the role they play in this process. However, to be successful in this endeavour, dental professionals really need the support of their country, without which no changes can take place. An accurate management of gerodontology is not enough, some aspects of older adult's lifestyles must be studied such as the psychological and social profile. The objective is not to work in several specialties but to work properly as a team co‐ordinated by the national authorities.     

lnter-rater reliability of an oral assessment guide for elderly patients residing in a rehabilitation ward

The aim of this study was to test the inter-rater reliability of a revised oral assessment guide (ROAG) for patients residing in a geriatric rehabilitation ward. A consecutive sample of 140 patients was recruited for the study. Oral assessments were performed for 133 newly admitted patients by one registered nurse (RN) during a period of six months. A dental hygienist (DH) carried out 103 oral assessments during the same half-year. For 66 patients, the RN and the DH performed independent assessments. There was an agreement between the RN and the DH in the majority of the independent assessments, except for tongue and teeth/dentures. The percentage agreement exceeded 80 percent. Inter-rater agreement measured by Cohen's Kappa coefficient ranged from moderate to very good and percentage agreement had a range of 58 to 91 percent. The agreement was highest in assessment of voice and swallowing (91%). Assessments of teeth and dentures seemed to be most difficult for the RN to evaluate. ROAG was found to be a clinically useful assessment tool. Additional education and training is needed to improve the reliability of the oral assessments and should include continuous support from a dental hygienist as well as a pictorial manual on how to use the ROAG.     

Determinants for preventive oral health care need among community‐dwelling older people: a population‐based study

The aim was to study the determinants of preventive oral health care need among community‐dwelling old people. The study population consisted of 165 participants, a subpopulation in the Geriatric Multidisciplinary Strategy for Good Care of Elderly People (GeMS) study. Fifty‐five percent of the edentate participants with full dentures and 82% of the dentate had a need for preventive oral health care. In the total study population, the need for preventive care was associated with co‐morbidity (measured by means of the Modified Functional Co‐morbidity Index) odds ratios (OR) 1.2 (confidence intervals [CI] 1.0–1.5), being pre‐frail or frail, OR 2.5 (CI 1.2–5.1), presence of natural teeth, OR 4.8 (CI 2.2–10.4), and among dentate participants, the use of a removable partial denture, OR 12.8 (CI 1.4–114.4). Primary care clinicians should be aware of the high need for preventive care and the importance of nonoral conditions as determinants of preventive oral health care need.