Oral health status and treatment needs of Canadian adults aged 85 years and over

Abstract

In an oral health survey, 1375 adults aged 85 and older were examined in North York, Canada. Only 31% of dentate nursing home residents and 47% of dentate independently living subjects had received dental care in the year previous to examination. The overall prevalence of edentulism was 66%, and about 80% of subjects wore at least one denture. Of the dentate subjects, over 60% had untreated decay, and 47% of nursing home residents had untreated root decay. Regarding clinically defined treatment needs, high levels of unmet need were identified in subjects from both types of residences. Among nursing home residents, about 45% of dentate subjects required tooth extraction, and 56% required prosthodontic treatment. Although only 27% of dentate independently living residents required tooth extraction, over 60% needed restorative treatment. Higher prevalence of both untreated decay and unmet treatment needs was associated with lower utilization of dental care for dentate subjects. For edentulous subjects, prosthetic treatment was required by 70% of nursing home residents and by 51% of independently living subjects. These results indicate that, for both nursing home and independently living residents, dental diseases and treatment needs continue through out the lifespan.

Oral health status of long‐term care residents in Canada: Results of a national cross‐sectional study

“…Four other Canadian studies on oral health status of long‐term care residents have studied participants from a single province or community using cross‐sectional data gathered through oral examinations by either a dentist or dental hygienist: Nova Scotia (n = 335); North York, Ontario (n = 1375 over a data collection period of 10 years); Edmonton, Alberta (n = 63); and Vancouver, British Columbia (n = 369) . The average number of teeth found in this study (16.4) is consistent with that found by Wyatt (16.4) and Kuc (17.1) but more than that found by Hawkins (11.9), who only included older adults aged 85 and older. Nearly twice the number of residents in this study wore complete dentures compared to those found by Wyatt (25%), whose study purpose was to recruit individuals for a mouth rinse clinical trial, possibly increasing the proportion of participants with dentition.…”

Dental treatment needs in the Canadian population: analysis of a nationwide cross-sectional survey

“…Generally, the oral health status of at risk children and adolescents appears to be poor resulting in the need for several treatments including urgent, restorative, periodontal and preventive care [4-6]. Similarly, very high levels of unmet need among older adults have been observed regardless of whether they live in an institution or are homebound [7]. The treatments they require have been reported as consisting of urgent, preventive, periodontal, restorative and prosthodontic care [7].…”

“…Similarly, very high levels of unmet need among older adults have been observed regardless of whether they live in an institution or are homebound [7]. The treatments they require have been reported as consisting of urgent, preventive, periodontal, restorative and prosthodontic care [7]. Other studies of need have also relied on self-reported information.…”

Action Planning for Daily Mouth Care in Long-Term Care: The Brushing Up on Mouth Care Project

“…Unlike previous generations, more and more older adults are maintaining their natural teeth into old age [1–3]. This is a welcome trend but results in new patterns of disease that become especially significant for those who are frail and who must depend on others for their personal care and hygiene [4–6].…”