Abstract
Aim
To investigate the nursing home inhabitants’ perceptions towards oral health care and to determine the actual level of treatment needs.
Subject and methods
All 114 nursing homes in the Federal State of Saarland, Germany were requested to participate in the study. A standardized questionnaire was utilized to assess patient attitudes and satisfaction with their oral health. The state of oral health and dental treatment needs were evaluated in a clinical examination.
Results
Facility response rate was 10.5 %. 170 inhabitants from 12 nursing homes (mean age 81.8 years; 71.8 % women) were involved in the study. The mean decayed/missing/filled teeth (DMFT) index was 24.2; the mean number of missing teeth was 22.96. Most of the subjects (80.1 %) had removable dentures, 48.8 % were edentulous. Over 70 % had not been examined by a dentist during the last year. Only about one third of the senior citizens reported problems with their natural teeth (13 %) or dentures (23.8 %), although the caries morbidity among the dentulous was high (87.6 %) and about half of the dentures (50.1 %) were rated as insufficient. Periodontal treatment was necessary in 65.1 % of the cases. Denture-related stomatitis affected 27 %. Unhygienic dentures were worn by 64.1 % of the subjects; dental hygiene was bad in 63.2 % of the cases.
Conclusion
The results of this study revealed a large discrepancy between perceived and actual treatment needs among institutionalized elderly people in Saarland. There is an urgent need for the development of a systematic dental care program for elderly people in the Federal State of Saarland.
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Mitov, G., Rabbo, M.A., Draenert, F. et al. Dental care and treatment needs of elderly in nursing homes in the Saarland: perceptions and oral health status of the inhabitants. J Public Health 22, 73–79 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10389-013-0587-2
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10389-013-0587-2