Oral Health of Independent–living Elderly Residing in a Community Home

Objective: To report on the oral health status of a group of independent-living elderly residing in the AWWA Community Home for Senior Citizens in Singapore, and investigate the relation between the clinical findings and demographic data. Method:  Consenting residents of the home who were over the age of 60 were recruited in this cross-sectional study. Two calibrated interviewers collected demographic information from the participants and four calibrated dentists conducted extra-oral and intra-oral examinations along with assessment of dentition, periodontal and denture status.  Descriptive analysis and bivariate analysis were performed on the demographic factors and other variables of interest. Result: Among the 70 participants, two subjects (2.9%) had complete dentition, 34 (48.6%) were partially dentate, and 34 (48.6%) were edentulous. The mean number of teeth among the dentate participants was 11.28 while the mean number of anterior, posterior and total occlusal contacts were 1.61, 2.17 and 3.78 respectively.  The mean number of decayed teeth (DT) and filled teeth (FT) were 2.81 and 0.25, giving a mean DFT score of 3.06. The mean Root Caries Index was 0.13.  Periodontal examination revealed that only 5 (13.9%) individuals had healthy periodontal tissues, while 2 (5.6%) had a highest CPI score of 1; 9 (25.0%) a highest CPI score of 2;, 11 (30.6%) a highest CPI score of 3 and 7 (19.4%) a highest CPI score of 4. Twenty (58.9%) of the partially dentate participants and 11 (32.4%) edentulous participants did not have any dentures. There was a correlation between age and the number of teeth, and age with DFT with correlation coefficients of -0.43 (p=0.01) and -0.33 (p=0.05) respectively. Conclusion:  The findings of this study revealed a high treatment need for this group of elderly. Affordable and accessible oral healthcare services and health promotion programmes should be made available for the elderly in Singapore.