Oral health of institutionalized elderly in Belgrade

Abstract

Introduction. As the number of institutionalized elderly in the world increases, so does the need for good medical and dental care for this group of people. The aim of this research was to determine the oral hygiene level, dental, periodontal and prosthetic status of intitutionalized elderly persons of over 65 years, in three residental homes for elderly in Belgrade. Materijal and Method. Three hundred and one persons were interviewed and clinically examined. The questionaire included sociodemographic data, habits concerning oral hygiene, subjective assessment of one's own health and prosthetic status. Clinical examination determined dental and parodontal status by using DFMT and CPITN index. Condition of oral soft tissues was also estimated. Existing dentures were evaluated in terms of retention, stabilization, attrition, hygiene, and need for repairment. Results. Of all examined people, 16.6% did not maintain oral hygiene; 2.3% received help with maintaing oral hygiene, although 36.5% was dependant on other people's care. Average DFMT was 26.36. CPITN was 2.23 on average. No denture and a need for one was observed in 41.1% examined institutionalized persons. Fifty-five point two percent of dentures needed repairment, and denture hygiene was poor in 50.0% of cases. Among all examined, 11.9% were edentulous and had no denture. Conclusion. To conclude, institutionalized elderly do not receive help in maintaining oral hygiene, alhough the majority is dependent on other people's care. Also, there is a large number of missing teeth and a need for complete parodontal and prosthetic treatment of most examined persons. It is essential to improve dental health care in residential homes for elderly.

Uvod. Povećanje broja starih institucionalizovanih osoba u svetu iziskuje dobru opštu zdravstvenu i stomatološku zaštitu ove grupe ljudi. Cilj rada bio je ispitati nivo oralne higijene, zatim dentalni, parodontalni i protetski status institucionalizovanih osoba starosti preko 65 godina, u tri staračka doma u Beogradu. Materijal i metod. Anketirana je i pregledana 301 osoba. Anketa je obuhvatala sociodemografske podatke, navike u održavanju oralne higijene, subjektivnu procenu opšteg zdravstvenog stanja i stomatoprotetskog statusa. Kliničkim pregledom utvrđen je status zuba i parodontalnih tkiva korištenjem DFMT i CPITN indeksa. Evidentirano je i zdravlje mekih tkiva usta. Postojeće proteze ocenjene su u pogledu retencije, stabilizacije, abradiranosti, higijene i neophodnosti reparature. Rezultati. Od ukupnog broja pregledanih, 16,6% nije održavalo oralnu higijenu. Pomoć u održavanju oralne higijene dobijalo je 2,3% ispitanika, iako je 36,5% bilo zavisno od tuđe nege. Prosečan DMFT iznosio je 26,36. CPITN indeks prosečno je iznosio 2,23. Protetski nije bilo zbrinuto 45,1% pregledanih osoba koje su imale potrebu za protezom. Reparaturu je zahtevalo 55,2% proteza, a higijena proteze bila je loša u 50,0% slučajeva. Od ukupnog broja pregledanih osoba, 11,9% bilo je bezubo i nije imalo totalne proteze. Zaključak. Može se zaključiti da stare institucionalizovane osobe ne dobijaju pomoć u održavanju oralne higijene, iako su u velikom broju zavisne od tuđe nege. Takođe, prisutan je veliki broj nedostajućih zuba i potreba za kompletnom parodontološkom i protetskom terapijom većine osoba. Neophodno je poboljšati stomatološku zdravstvenu zaštitu pacijenata u staračkim domovima.