engleski

Oral health needs and state of prosthetic appliances amongst elderly home residents in northern Croatia

The human population is notably ageing and its demo¬graphic profile has strikingly changed in the past decades. Inadequate and sometimes insufficiently accessible healthcare for the elderly presents a significant problem in developing countries such as Croatia. Oral health is often unjustly neglected, not only by the elderly themselves, but unfortunately also by healthcare professionals, especially supporting and paramedical staff in geri-atric care homes. A possible reason for the latter is a lack of information and knowledge of the specific needs and defining features of the geriatric population. The aim of this study was to assess oral health needs in the target elderly population-elderly residents of geriatric care homes.A total of 110 participants were enrolled in this study from various geriatric care homes in northern Croatia. Clinical evaluation was carried out by three dental students who previous¬ly participated in training and standardization according to the WHO dental status criteria. Data from checkups and interviews comprising: dental and medical history, DMFT index, state of prosthetic appliances, oral hygiene and chewing ability index according to Yoshida et al., were filled out in specially designed questionnaires.The estimated average age of a prosthetic appliance was between 10 and 15 years. Approximately 40 % of participants were recorded as edentulous, whilst 15 % had 5 or less remaining teeth. Participants exhibited relatively poor oral hygiene, with approximately 20-25 % of them using toothbrush and toothpaste less than once every day or never and over 75 % never using a tongue cleaner. Extensive tooth loss reduced chewing performance and affected food choice, mean score of chewing ability being 2.2. Prosthetic appliances have shown worn masticatory surfaces, reduced denture retention and sta¬bility, due to the effects of alveolar bone resorption, indicating a normative need for replacement in more than 60 % of the examined appliances.This study indicates a relatively low level of oral health amongst the elderly population and a subsequent need for its improve¬ment by education of the elderly and healthcare paramedical and supporting staff in the geriatric care homes, through oral health pro¬motion and programmes.

elderly ; oral health ; state of prosthetic appliances

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