Changes in oral status and dental treatment in long term hospital inmates in Stockholm from 1988 to 1990.
The proportion of elderly in the Swedish population is increasing. In future elderly people will have retained more teeth and will require higher standards of dental care as long as they are healthy. There is an increasing trend towards admission of only severely compromised patients to long term institutions. This study was undertaken to evaluate whether changing concepts in community geriatric care and criteria for admission to long term hospitals were reflected in the oral status and the treatment level of geriatric hospital patients. The study confirms that the inmates were older and more medically compromised and that the change was discernible during such a short period of time as two years. Edentulousness had decreased from 30 percent to 24 percent. The mean number of remaining teeth was 15.2 in 1988 and 13.0 in 1990. The content of treatment had changed between 1988 and 1990. The dentist had adjusted the treatment level to the patient's condition and to the unexpected shortage of dental personnel. It can be concluded that the maintenance of life-long good oral health demands life-long regular dental care, with an increasing content of professional preventive care in long term care at home or in hospital.
Nordenram
G
G
Department of Geriatric Dentistry, School of Dentistry, Karolinska Institute, Huddinge, Sweden.
D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D003153:Community Health Services / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D003729:Dental Care / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D005888:Gingival Pocket / Q000453:epidemiology; D006299:Health Services for the Aged / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006304:Health Status; D006782:Hospitals, Special / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D008134:Long-Term Care / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009066:Mouth, Edentulous / Q000453:epidemiology; D009909:Oral Health; D010343:Patient Admission / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D012737:Sex Factors; D013548:Sweden / Q000453:epidemiology