title: Oral health status of a long-term-care, veteran population.
abstract: The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) operates the largest, integrated health care system in the United States of America. The projected need for long-term-care in the VA health care system parallels an expected increase in need for care in the United States, but precedes the need for care in the general population by 25-30 yr. The VA's Office of Dentistry, in an effort to estimate the resource requirements of this swelling group of veterans, initiated in 1986-7 an oral health survey of long-term care patients. The overall goals were to describe the oral health status of VA nursing home care units (NHCU) residents and to develop a methodology for estimating future dental health services utilization. This study describes the oral health status of the study population. Demographic and oral health data were collected for 650 long-term care residents of six VA NHCUs between October 1986 and July 1987. Data were collected on sociodemographic status, medical history, dental caries, periodontal diseases, oral soft tissue pathology, and the presence of dental prostheses. Caries and periodontal disease were evaluated using the United States National Institute of Dental Research Survey of Employed Adults and Seniors protocols. The oral health status of the population is described using DMF and ESI indices, the prevalence of oral lesions, levels of tooth loss, oral hygiene scores, and the status of existing dentures. Findings show moderate levels of untreated dental caries and periodontal disease and significant tooth loss which increased with age. A need for preventive therapy, restorative dentistry, conservative periodontal therapy, and prosthodontic care was evident.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
authors.affiliation: Department of Public Health and Community Dentistry, School of Dental Medicine, University of Pittsburgh, PA 15261.
authors.forename: R J
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Weyant
authors.forename: J A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Jones
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hobbins
authors.forename: L C
authors.initials: LC
authors.lastname: Niessen
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Adelson
authors.forename: R R
authors.initials: RR
authors.lastname: Rhyne
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D016010:Binomial Distribution; D016000:Cluster Analysis; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004245:DMF Index; D016321:Dental Care for Aged; D003731:Dental Caries / Q000453:epidemiology*; D003778:Dentures / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D004522:Educational Status; D005260:Female; D015577:Geriatric Assessment; D006301:Health Services Needs and Demand; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009059:Mouth Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology; D009735:Nursing Homes; D009909:Oral Health; D010342:Patient Acceptance of Health Care; D010510:Periodontal Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology*; D010512:Periodontal Index; D015995:Prevalence; D012907:Smoking; D016388:Tooth Loss / Q000453:epidemiology; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology; D014493:United States Department of Veterans Affairs; D014728:Veterans / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*