IADR Abstract Archives
Oral health status of institution elderly people with Disabilities
Objectives: The population of people with disability in Taiwan reached 1.17 million in 2016, among whom 40% were aged 65 and over. Oral health is a mirror of general health, and affects quality of life. To understand disabled elderly people’s oral health status and their need of relevant services to provide a supportive environment is an important issue.
Methods: The database was from the 2013 National Oral Health Survey of Institution people with disabilities in Taiwan. The targeted population was those disabled people living in institutions and aged 65 and over . Oral health status was examined by standardized dentists, and a structured questionnaire was used to collect other relevant information including types and degree of disabilities, oral hygiene practice, dental visit experience, and demand for oral health services.
Results: A total of 944 disabled elderly people whom living in the institutions completed oral examination and questionnaires. Nearly half of the participants (49.3%) were female, with mean ± SD of age as 72.6±5.4 years old. The most frequent type of disability was Dementia(26.4%), followed by Chronic Mental Disability (24.7%). More than 70% were in the severity catories of Moderate or Severe. The mean ±SD of DMFT index was 22.91±6.83. Almost all (97.0%) of the participants needed assisted oral hygiene care, while only 15.1% of them had regular dental check. More than one third there is (36.3%) of the participants received dental care due to pain or uncomfortable, and more than half (55.5%) of them needed assistance in cleaning their mouth. The prevalence of edentulism was 15.4% and prosthesis was in need.
Conclusions: Disabled elderly people suffered from poor oral health. Most of them had their oral hygiene kept thanks to their caregivers . To improve the oral health and quality of life of disabled elderly people, it is necessary to increase access to oral health services bedside dental care, and to reinforce caregivers’ ability to help cleansing oral cavity for disabled elderly people.
Methods: The database was from the 2013 National Oral Health Survey of Institution people with disabilities in Taiwan. The targeted population was those disabled people living in institutions and aged 65 and over . Oral health status was examined by standardized dentists, and a structured questionnaire was used to collect other relevant information including types and degree of disabilities, oral hygiene practice, dental visit experience, and demand for oral health services.
Results: A total of 944 disabled elderly people whom living in the institutions completed oral examination and questionnaires. Nearly half of the participants (49.3%) were female, with mean ± SD of age as 72.6±5.4 years old. The most frequent type of disability was Dementia(26.4%), followed by Chronic Mental Disability (24.7%). More than 70% were in the severity catories of Moderate or Severe. The mean ±SD of DMFT index was 22.91±6.83. Almost all (97.0%) of the participants needed assisted oral hygiene care, while only 15.1% of them had regular dental check. More than one third there is (36.3%) of the participants received dental care due to pain or uncomfortable, and more than half (55.5%) of them needed assistance in cleaning their mouth. The prevalence of edentulism was 15.4% and prosthesis was in need.
Conclusions: Disabled elderly people suffered from poor oral health. Most of them had their oral hygiene kept thanks to their caregivers . To improve the oral health and quality of life of disabled elderly people, it is necessary to increase access to oral health services bedside dental care, and to reinforce caregivers’ ability to help cleansing oral cavity for disabled elderly people.