Oral health status of Chinese elderly people with dementia

Objectives: To compare the oral hygiene habits and oral health status of Chinese elders with and without dementia. Methods: Chinese elderly people with dementia attending three day-care centres in Hong Kong were invited to participate in this study. Age and gender matched people without dementia who attended a dental hospital were recruited as control. Informed consent from the participants and their care-takers were obtained. The study comprised of a questionnaire survey, saliva collection and clinical examination. Unstimulated salivary flow rate was measured. Caries experience, oral hygiene status, periodontal status were recorded using the DMFT index, Visible Plaque Index (VPI) and Community Periodontal Index (CPI). Results: Fifty-nine Chinese elders with dementia (12 men, 47 women) were recruited, and their mean age was 80±7 years. Compare with the control, proportionally more of the people with dementia received assistance on tooth-brushing (31% vs. 5%; p<0.001) and brushed their teeth less than twice a day (33% vs. 17%; p=0.045). Their unstimulated salivary flow rate was lower than that of the control (0.30ml/min vs. 0.41ml/min; p=0.043). Their mean DMFT score was similar to control (22.3±8.2 vs. 21.5±8.2). They had a higher VPI score (0.78 vs. 0.55; p<0.001) while the percentages of subjects with CPI ≥3 in the two groups were similar (78% vs. 74%). Conclusions: Compared with people without dementia, Chinese elders with dementia had poorer oral hygiene and less resting salivary secretion, while their caries experience and periodontal conditions were similar to those of people without dementia.