Dental health status of community‐dwelling older Singaporeans: findings from a nationally representative survey

Abstract

The findings demonstrated differences in dental health status by age, gender and ethnicity. They highlight the need for improvements in the dental health status of all older Singaporeans, especially older women. The data presented herein may serve as a baseline for policymakers to evaluate the impact of recent schemes launched by the Ministry of Health (Singapore) to subsidise dental treatment.

Comparison of oral health status and daily nutrient intake between elders who live alone and elders who live with family: Based on the Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES VI) (2013‐2015)

“…Therefore, it is necessary for community health workers (such as a dental hygienist or dental nurse) to visit the home of elders living alone on a regular basis and provide plaque removal instruction, daily use of oral care products and use of self‐prevention oral health care, etc. In the present study, the mean number of existing teeth in elders living with family was 20, which was higher than the mean number of existing teeth in the community‐dwelling elders in Singapore (the mean number of existing teeth: 11.4) and Japan (the mean number of existing teeth: 16.8) . Although not shown in the table, elders living with family in Korea were only two edentulous participants in the age group of over 65 years old, which is much better than Singapore .…”

“…In the present study, the mean number of existing teeth in elders living with family was 20, which was higher than the mean number of existing teeth in the community‐dwelling elders in Singapore (the mean number of existing teeth: 11.4) and Japan (the mean number of existing teeth: 16.8) . Although not shown in the table, elders living with family in Korea were only two edentulous participants in the age group of over 65 years old, which is much better than Singapore . In the present study, the elderly living alone showed a higher proportion of 0‐10 teeth than that of 21 or more teeth, although there was no study comparing the number of existing teeth according to the living status, which could have led to a chewing problem.…”

“…26 Although not shown in the table, elders living with family in Korea were only two edentulous participants in the age group of over 65 years old, which is much better than Singapore. 25 In the present study, the elderly living alone showed a higher proportion of 0-10 teeth than that of 21 or more teeth, although there was no study comparing the number of existing teeth according to the living status, which could have led to a chewing problem. If the number of existing teeth was low, periodontitis was also considered to be low.…”

Dental and periodontal problems of elderly people in Vietnamese nursing homes

“…Nearly half of our sample of LTC facility residents had 20 or more functioning teeth, which is lower than the prevalence reported from Qingdao, China, but higher than in Wales . Indeed, the prevalence of edentulous residents was low (<10%) compared to previous international studies of older people, but higher than in Southern Vietnam, where more participants aged 60 years or older had DMFT . The high prevalence and need for treatment of both coronal and root caries could be because new residents were admitted to the nursing homes with a compromised oral health status, or because they developed these oral diseases and conditions while living in the nursing homes.…”

Relationship between salivary haemoglobin and number of remaining teeth in older Koreans

“…Thus, older people are more likely to experience higher levels of dental caries and periodontal disease, major reasons for tooth loss . Consequently, the average number of remaining teeth decreases with increasing age …”