IADR Abstract Archives
Impact of Professional Brushing on Oral Health and Geriatric Assessment
Objectives: Oral health of nursing home residents is poor for various reasons. Aim of this trial was to investigate the efficacy of professional brushing by a three-head brush performed by a dental nurse every three weeks among nursing home residents for a three months period and to investigate the impact on geriatric assessment results.
Methods: N=40 participants living in a nursing home were included in this trial and received professional brushing performed by a dental nurse every three weeks for three months with a three-head brush, control cases were obtained from earlier investigations maintaining their usual oral hygiene procedures. The general clinical, geriatric (Mini nutritional assessment (MNA), Mini mental state examination (MMSE) and oral health situation was investigated (number of teeth, periodontitis, gingivitis index (GI), plaque index (PI), root caries index (RCI), Volpe-Manhold-Index (VMI)) and Geriatric Oral Health Assessment Index (GOHAI) were obtained before and after three months.
Results: The mean baseline DMFT was 23 (SD: 4), 76% of participants suffered from periodontitis. 48% of residents had partial and 20% total dentures. After three months, a reduction between baseline and final examination could be shown in the VMI (p<0.001; Friedman’s non-parametric test). An improvement in nutritional status (p=0.012) has been found in patients diagnosed with dementia after the intervention and improvement in the GOHAI (p=0.031) could be shown for all participants. Gingivitis and plaque index could not be improved during the course of the study.
Conclusions: Professional brushing performed regularly by a dental nurse is an efficient method to improve the oral hygiene situation by reducing supragingival calculus amounts. However, brushing every three weeks with a three-head brush was not effective in improvement of gingivitis and plaque index. Oral hygiene provision may contribute to better nutritional status and increased oral health-related quality of life.
Methods: N=40 participants living in a nursing home were included in this trial and received professional brushing performed by a dental nurse every three weeks for three months with a three-head brush, control cases were obtained from earlier investigations maintaining their usual oral hygiene procedures. The general clinical, geriatric (Mini nutritional assessment (MNA), Mini mental state examination (MMSE) and oral health situation was investigated (number of teeth, periodontitis, gingivitis index (GI), plaque index (PI), root caries index (RCI), Volpe-Manhold-Index (VMI)) and Geriatric Oral Health Assessment Index (GOHAI) were obtained before and after three months.
Results: The mean baseline DMFT was 23 (SD: 4), 76% of participants suffered from periodontitis. 48% of residents had partial and 20% total dentures. After three months, a reduction between baseline and final examination could be shown in the VMI (p<0.001; Friedman’s non-parametric test). An improvement in nutritional status (p=0.012) has been found in patients diagnosed with dementia after the intervention and improvement in the GOHAI (p=0.031) could be shown for all participants. Gingivitis and plaque index could not be improved during the course of the study.
Conclusions: Professional brushing performed regularly by a dental nurse is an efficient method to improve the oral hygiene situation by reducing supragingival calculus amounts. However, brushing every three weeks with a three-head brush was not effective in improvement of gingivitis and plaque index. Oral hygiene provision may contribute to better nutritional status and increased oral health-related quality of life.