Knowledge and behaviours related to oral health among underserved older adults

Abstract

Objective: To examine the mouth and body knowledge, beliefs and behaviours of Dominican, Puerto Rican and African American older adults, and their relationships to oral and general health and health care. Background: In his seminal framework, Handwerker posited that the norms, attitudes and behaviours related to the experience of disease and treatment reflect where patients live and have lived and are seeking and have sought care, along with their webs of social and health relations. This framework guides the analysis for the present study, wherein qualitative data are used to understand mouth and body knowledge, beliefs and behaviours among racial/ethnic minority older adults, ie, why individuals do what they do and what it means to them. Materials and methods: Focus groups were conducted in Spanish or English with 194 racial/ethnic minority older adults living in northern Manhattan who participated in one of 24 focus group sessions about improving oral health. All groups were digitally audio-recorded, transcribed and translated into English from Spanish, where apt. Analysis involved the classification of evidence from all datasets, organised to identify patterns and relationships. Results: Four themes were manifest in the data regarding cultural understandings of the mouth, the body and health: (a) the ageing mouth and its components; (b) the mouth in relation to the body, health and disease; (c) social meanings of the mouth; and (d) care of the ageing mouth. Conclusion: Underserved older adults from diverse cultural backgrounds understand the importance of their mouths to both their overall health and social lives.

Ill Effects and Complications Associated to Removable Dentures With Improper Use and Poor Oral Hygiene: A Systematic Review

“…The study commented that participants were experiencing problems affording copayment, and several co-morbidities preventing multiple visits involved with treatment and restoration. In addition, there was also a lack of affordable dental facilities and confusion about Medicaid coverage [ 10 ].…”

“…Over one-third (34%) of those living below the federal poverty level are edentulous, compared to only one-eighth (13%) of those living above the federal poverty line among US adults aged 65-74 years. Improving patients' oral health literacy at the individual level and strengthening the cultural competency of oral health practitioners at the interpersonal level may be effective in advancing oral health equity [ 10 ].…”

“…We conducted a systematic study to assess the complications, infections, and life-threatening illnesses due to inappropriate denture use and poor dental hygiene in the geriatric population who wear removable dentures. We also analyzed factors contributing to worsening oral health among the elderly such as diabetics, alcohol, and tobacco use [ 10 - 11 ]. By the end of the review, we aim to bring further proper dentist-recommended evidence-based denture oral hygiene and appropriate use of dentures.…”

Patients Perceived Knowledge, Attitude, and Practice of Dental Abscess Management in Periurban District, Ghana

“…Being a part of an ethnic minority group does not inevitably lead a person to have poor oral health. It does suggest, however, that there may be certain cultural beliefs and practices common to the people in these groups which influence their oral health status, such as values placed on having healthy primary teeth or expectations about preventive or therapeutic interventions [ 16 ]. Beliefs and cultural factors may have important implications for an individual's own health and those of others for whom they provide care, such as children and the elderly.…”

“…The generational beliefs in oral health also stem from the importance of the mouths to both their overall health and social lives [ 16 ]. The frequency of untreated carious and missing tooth surfaces was linked to oral health-related quality of life [ 17 ].…”