The meaning of oral health-related quality of life for elderly persons with dementia.
OBJECTIVE
Studies of oral health developments increasingly include self-reported assessments of how oral health affects quality of life (QoL), referred to as "oral health-related QoL". People with dementia are often excluded in studies of oral health-related QoL and thus our aim in this study was to explore this area in elderly persons with dementia.


METHODS
Eighteen elderly individuals (aged between 78 and 94 years) with dementia of varying degrees of severity were interviewed with the aid of an interview guide; pictures and objects were used as stimulus material (triggers). The material was analyzed using grounded theory as point of departure, and a professional assessment of the oral health of the participants was used as reference.


RESULTS
Four categories were identified: the ability to chew and eat, independence, oral problems, and teeth are important. These factors are largely consistent with those that have emerged in earlier studies of the elderly, but in some cases less pronounced in persons with dementia.


CONCLUSIONS
The use of triggers is a positive way to communicate oral health-related QoL among persons suffering from dementia, although the material used in this study needs further evaluation and development.
Ericsson
Iréne
I
School of Health Sciences, Institute of Gerontology, Jönköping University, Jönköping, Sweden. erir@hhj.hj.se
Aronsson
Kerstin
K
Cedersund
Elisabet
E
Hugoson
Anders
A
Jonsson
Margareta
M
Gerdin
Elisabeth Wärnberg
EW
D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000375:Aging / Q000523:psychology; D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000523:psychology; D001294:Attitude to Health; D003704:Dementia / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000523:psychology*; D015140:Dementia, Vascular / Q000523:psychology; D003778:Dentures / Q000523:psychology; D004435:Eating / Q000502:physiology; D004955:Esthetics, Dental; D006801:Humans; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D007576:Jaw, Edentulous, Partially / Q000145:classification / Q000523:psychology; D008409:Mastication / Q000502:physiology; D009059:Mouth Diseases / Q000523:psychology; D009066:Mouth, Edentulous / Q000523:psychology; D009909:Oral Health; D009910:Oral Hygiene; D011788:Quality of Life; D012648:Self Care; D014076:Tooth Diseases / Q000523:psychology