title: Oral health status of older adults in Arizona: results from the Arizona Elder Study.
abstract: This study was undertaken to compare oral health status of independent community-dwelling elders with those using long-term-care services. Clinical examinations and self-reported sociodemographic data were collected for 2927 older adults living independently, using home-care services, or living in nursing facilities. Mean age of dentate participants (n = 2021) was 72.2 years (range, 50-103 years); mean number of teeth, 18.16; mean DFS, 28.86; and mean RCI, 15.23. In multivariate analyses, receiving home-care services or living in a nursing facility was significantly predictive of poorer oral health status with respect to both coronal and root caries. This was also true for ethnic groups other than non-Hispanic-white. We concluded that, in a large, multi-ethnic sample, direct comparisons highlight significant unmet treatment need among users of long-term-care services, compared with independent older adults living in the same communities.
authors.affiliation: Department of Applied Dentistry, University of Colorado School of Dentistry, Denver, CO 80262, USA.
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Berg
authors.forename: D B
authors.initials: DB
authors.lastname: Berkey
authors.forename: J M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Tang
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Baine
authors.forename: D S
authors.initials: DS
authors.lastname: Altman
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001130:Arizona / Q000453:epidemiology; D004245:DMF Index; D003731:Dental Caries / Q000453:epidemiology; D003793:Dental Restoration, Permanent / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005006:Ethnicity / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005260:Female; D006304:Health Status; D006699:Home Care Services / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006707:Homes for the Aged / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D007575:Jaw, Edentulous / Q000453:epidemiology; D007576:Jaw, Edentulous, Partially / Q000453:epidemiology; D008134:Long-Term Care / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D020380:Needs Assessment / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D009735:Nursing Homes / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D009909:Oral Health; D012111:Residence Characteristics / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D017213:Root Caries / Q000453:epidemiology; D014076:Tooth Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology*