title: Dental state and needs for episodic care of institutionalized elderly in an Asian community.
abstract: This study examined the dental state of institutionalized elderly and their need for care. An oral examination was carried out on 479 elderly persons living in long-term care facilities with a mean age of 74.9 years. Results showed an overall DMF score of 27.0 and the average number of teeth in dentate subjects was 7.5. A large proportion of teeth (76.6%) was lost through dental caries and the loss increased significantly with age. Consequently, 56.1% of subjects were edentulous, of whom 78.8% were without dentures. Among the conditions that required urgent dental care, majority of subjects needed extractions of residual roots and loose teeth. A lesser proportion required treatment for gross caries (4.8%), periodontal disease (5.0%), suspected tumor (0.2%), as well as alleviation of pain and infection arising from mucosal lesions (4.8%), abscesses (3.3%) and TMJ problems (2.8%). The treatment needs for dentures and episodic care are high among institutionalized elderly and need to be addressed.
authors.affiliation: Department of Preventive Dentistry, National University of Singapore, National University Hospital.
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Soh
authors.forename: Y H
authors.initials: YH
authors.lastname: Chong
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Ong
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D004245:DMF Index; D003753:Dental Health Surveys; D005260:Female; D006301:Health Services Needs and Demand / Q000592:standards*; D006299:Health Services for the Aged / Q000592:standards*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009735:Nursing Homes; D009909:Oral Health; D012846:Singapore