National survey of oral health care in Finnish municipal old people's homes.

As oral health is especially important for physically, mentally and socially handicapped old people, the aim of this study was to investigate the dental services provided for people living in municipal old people's homes in Finland. The study involved all the 431 municipal old people's homes in Finland in 1989. The directors of the old people's homes were asked to fill in a questionnaire. The response rate was 99.5%. The study showed that the dental services provided for the elderly vary greatly in different old people's homes. As a whole, however, dental care arrangements are inadequate: oral examinations on admission are performed always in 11% and never in 47% of the old people's homes, and oral examinations for residents are carried out annually in 23% and never in 21%. In 56% of the homes the need for treatment comes to light only when the old people themselves complain about a dental problem. Comprehensive dental care is available in 16% of the homes. One notable feature is that, although all the homes are publicly owned, the system of charging for the dental care of the elderly varies considerably between different homes. Comparing the results of this study with those from earlier investigations shows that, although there has been some progress in dental service arrangements in the 1980s, the oral care provided for these old people is still far from satisfactory. It is obvious that the value of oral health as an important component of human well-being is not yet widely recognized. To rectify the situation uniform regulations governing dental services for the elderly in institutions are required for the whole of the country.