title: Oral health of older people admitted to hospital for needs assessment.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To describe the clinical oral health status, treatment needs and oral-health-related quality of life (OHRQoL) of older people admitted to older persons' wards at Dunedin Public Hospital due to a sudden worsening of their general health. Participants and methods: A systematic oral assessment was undertaken for a consecutive case series of 200 patients (59.5% female; mean age 82.6 years, sd 6.6) admitted to older person's wards at Dunedin Public Hospital. The Oral Health Impact Profile-20 (OHIP-20) was used to assess OHRQoL.
  
  
  RESULTS
  One in three (36.0%) had been living independently at home prior to admission, and over half (55.0%) had been admitted for a medical reason which required assessment. Half (50.0%) of the participants were dentate (with an average of 16.8 teeth). There was an average of 1.9 decayed teeth present in the dentate group; 70.7% of individuals required restorations or extractions, and about 90% required only simple scaling of the teeth and prophylaxis. A reline or a replacement denture were required by three-quarters of those with dentures. Almost two-thirds of participants did not have a regular dentist, and fewer than one in three had made a dental visit in the previous year. One in six described their oral health as 'fair' or 'poor', and just under one-third reported dry mouth. Dentate participants, those without xerostomia, and those reporting better oral health had better OHRQoL, reflected in lower OHIP-20 scores. Affecting 37.1% of participants, functional limitation was the most commonly experienced of the OHIP-20 domains, followed by physical disability and physical pain (18.0% and 15.6% respectively).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The oral health of medically compromised and functionally dependent but cognitively competent older people in this study is generally poor. If transfer to long-term care is indicated, early and proper preventive measures and appropriate dental contact should be advocated in order to reduce morbidity and improve quality of life for older people.
authors.forename: G Y
authors.initials: GY
authors.lastname: Ling
authors.forename: R M
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: Love
authors.forename: E E
authors.initials: EE
authors.lastname: MacFadyen
authors.forename: W M
authors.initials: WM
authors.lastname: Thomson
mesh_terms: D000203:Activities of Daily Living; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001294:Attitude to Health; D004245:DMF Index; D003729:Dental Care / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D003777:Dental Prophylaxis / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D003793:Dental Restoration, Permanent / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D012534:Dental Scaling / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D003823:Denture Rebasing / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D003778:Dentures / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006233:Persons with Disabilities / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005260:Female; D015577:Geriatric Assessment / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D057187:Independent Living / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D008297:Male; D020380:Needs Assessment / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D009520:New Zealand / Q000453:epidemiology; D009909:Oral Health / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D010147:Pain Measurement / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D010343:Patient Admission / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011788:Quality of Life; D012923:Social Class; D014081:Tooth Extraction / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D014987:Xerostomia / Q000453:epidemiology