Oral Health Assessment Among Palliative Care Patients Using new Tool

Objectives: To estimate the prevalence of oral health problems among adult patients in palliative care in Brunei Darussalam through a newly developed oral assessment tool and to identify any limitations in this tool.
Methods: The research was a descriptive cross–sectional study that utilized an interviewer–administered, self–designed (OPCAR) questionnaire. A total of 90 palliative patients were interviewed and assessed. The eligibility criteria to participate in this study included, palliative patients age 18 years and above, able to communicate directly or through a caregiver. Paediatric patients, disoriented or comatose patients and patients who were in the isolation unit were excluded. The study involved using two instruments. A questionnaire and an assessment tool (Oral Palliative Care Assessment and Referral (OPCAR)). The questionnaire consisted of sociodemographic questions, oral hygiene practices, and oral health problems. The OPCAR was administered in palliative care patients with informed consent. The OPCAR assessed 10 categories (saliva, lips, teeth, tongue, oral hygiene, gums, overall appearance, dental pain, the opening of the mouth, and if a denture wearer).
Results: Almost all palliative care patients had good oral hygiene in terms of brushing their teeth. There were three common oral health problems that were shared among patients in palliative care: saliva (65.8%), lips (64.4%), teeth (56.2%), tongue problems 50.7%, gum problems 35.6% and dental pain 20.7%. Fisher’s exact test identified there were significantly higher teeth–related problems (teeth caries, fracture, broken root stumps) in non–denture wearing patients.
Conclusions: It was revealed that almost all the participants were eligible to be referred to the dental clinic for at least one oral problem. This tool (OPCAR) can be used successfully for the assessment of oral problems of palliative care patients. This study also offers a general baseline for future oral palliative research that may want to look further into denture-wearing vs non–denture-wearing patients.