title: Quality of life and oral health in elderly.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  We want to assess quality of life in elderly patients in relation to the number of remaining teeth, the number of ingested drugs and xerostomía and to determine the correlation between an increased intake of drugs and a greater feeling of dry mouth and to know the most commonly used measures to control xerostomia.
  
  
  METHODS
  30 subjects aged between 65 and 95 years (14 males, 16 females) completed the OHIP questionnaire to determine quality of life. For oral status, the number of remaining teeth according to WHO criteria and xerostomia using the xerostomia index (XI) were studied. In cases of dry mouth sensation, the measures to alleviate it were asked.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The average quality of life according to the OHIP rate is 19.23 (Dt = 10.58), being 56 the worst quality of life. The Pearson correlation coefficient indicates that quality of life is not related to the number of remaining teeth (r = -0.046;p= 0.810) nor the number of ingested drugs (r = 0.226;p= 0.23) but a greater sensation of dry mouth is related to a poorer quality of life (r = 0.678;p= 0.230). There is no association between the number of ingested drugs and the xerostomia index (r = 0.144;p= 0.447). The most frequently measures used against dry mouth were drinking water (21 subjects) and sugarless candies (15 subjects).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Quality of life is not related to the number of remaining teeth nor the number of ingested drugs. However, a higher level of xerostomia was significantly associated with a poorer quality of life. There is no association between the number of drugs ingested and xerostomia index. Sugarless candies and drinking water are the more frequently used measures to alleviate dry mouth.Key words:Quality of life, oral health, elderly.
authors.affiliation: DDS, PhD. Collaborator Professor. Faculty of Odontology. Complutense University of Madrid. Department of Stomatology III.
authors.forename: Víctor-Manuel
authors.initials: VM
authors.lastname: Paredes-Rodríguez
authors.affiliation: DDS. Collaborator Professor. Faculty of Odontology. Complutense University of Madrid. Department of Stomatology IV.
authors.forename: Gema
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Torrijos-Gómez
authors.affiliation: DDS. Master Student. Faculty of Odontology. Complutense University of Madrid. Department of Stomatology III.
authors.forename: José
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: González-Serrano
authors.affiliation: DDS, PhD. Associate Professor. Faculty of Odontology. Complutense University of Madrid. Department of Stomatology III.
authors.forename: Rosa-María
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: López-Pintor-Muñoz
authors.affiliation: MD, DDS, PhD. Head Professor. Faculty of Odontology. Complutense University of Madrid. Department of Stomatology IV.
authors.forename: Miguel-Ángel
authors.initials: MÁ
authors.lastname: López-Bermejo
authors.affiliation: MD, DDS, PhD. Head Professor. Faculty of Odontology. Complutense University of Madrid. Department of Stomatology III.
authors.forename: Gonzalo
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Hernández-Vallejo