Division of Oral Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA 30341-3717, USA.
Am J Public Health. 2012 Mar;102(3):411-8. doi: 10.2105/AJPH.2011.300362. Epub 2012 Jan 19.
Dental disease is largely preventable. Many older adults, however, experience poor oral health. National data for older adults show racial/ethnic and income disparities in untreated dental disease and oral health-related quality of life. Persons reporting poor versus good health also report lower oral health-related quality of life. On the basis of these findings, suggested public health priorities include better integrating oral health into medical care, implementing community programs to promote healthy behaviors and improve access to preventive services, developing a comprehensive strategy to address the oral health needs of the homebound and long-term-care residents, and assessing the feasibility of ensuring a safety net that covers preventive and basic restorative services to eliminate pain and infection.
口腔疾病在很大程度上是可以预防的。然而，许多老年人的口腔健康状况不佳。针对老年人的国家数据显示，在未经治疗的口腔疾病和与口腔健康相关的生活质量方面，存在着种族/民族和收入差距。报告健康状况不佳的人与报告健康状况良好的人相比，其与口腔健康相关的生活质量也较低。基于这些发现，建议的公共卫生重点包括更好地将口腔健康纳入医疗保健、实施社区计划以促进健康行为和改善获得预防服务的机会、制定一项全面战略来满足居家和长期护理居民的口腔健康需求，以及评估确保安全网覆盖预防和基本修复服务以消除疼痛和感染的可行性。
