title: Dementia and oral health among subjects aged 75 years or older.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To study the association between diagnosed dementia and oral health, focusing on the type of dementia, among an elderly population aged 75 years or older.
  
  
  BACKGROUND
  Elderly people with dementia are at risk from oral diseases, but to date, only a few studies have analysed the association between type of dementia and oral health, and their results are inconclusive.
  
  
  METHODS
  This cross-sectional study is based on the Geriatric multi-disciplinary strategy (Gems) study that included 76 demented and 278 non-demented subjects. The data were collected by means of an interview and an oral clinical examination. The type of dementia was diagnosed according to DSM-IV criteria. Poisson's and logistic regression models were used to determine relative risks (RR), odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence limits (CI).
  
  
  RESULTS
  Our results showed that patients with Alzheimer's disease and those with other types of dementia had an increased likelihood of having carious teeth, teeth with deep periodontal pockets, and poor oral and denture hygiene, compared with non-demented persons. The results showed that the type of dementia does not seem to be an essential determinant of oral health.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Among the elderly aged 75 years or older, patients with Alzheimer's disease or other types of dementia are at increased risk of poor oral health and poor oral hygiene.
authors.affiliation: Department of Periodontology, Institute of Dentistry, University of Oulu, Finland. anna-maija.syrjala@oulu.fi
authors.forename: Anna-Maija Hannele
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Syrjälä
authors.forename: Pekka
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Ylöstalo
authors.forename: Piia
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Ruoppi
authors.forename: Kaija
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Komulainen
authors.forename: Sirpa
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Hartikainen
authors.forename: Raimo
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Sulkava
authors.forename: Matti
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Knuuttila
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000150:complications*; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D015140:Dementia, Vascular / Q000150:complications*; D003731:Dental Caries / Q000209:etiology*; D003773:Dental Plaque / Q000209:etiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D057187:Independent Living / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D020961:Lewy Body Disease / Q000150:complications; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D009735:Nursing Homes / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D016017:Odds Ratio; D009910:Oral Hygiene / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D010514:Periodontal Pocket / Q000209:etiology*; D012307:Risk Factors