title: The meaning of oral health-related quality of life for elderly persons with dementia.
abstract: 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.
authors.affiliation: School of Health Sciences, Institute of Gerontology, Jönköping University, Jönköping, Sweden. erir@hhj.hj.se
authors.forename: Iréne
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Ericsson
authors.forename: Kerstin
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Aronsson
authors.forename: Elisabet
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Cedersund
authors.forename: Anders
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Hugoson
authors.forename: Margareta
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Jonsson
authors.forename: Elisabeth Wärnberg
authors.initials: EW
authors.lastname: Gerdin
mesh_terms: 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