Flemish-Netherlands Geriatric Oral Research Group (BENECOMO), Dutch Association for Gerodontology (NVGd), Bunnik, The Netherlands; Department Oral Public Health (OPH), Acadamic Centre for Dentistry Amsterdam (ACTA), University of Amsterdam and Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
Flemish-Netherlands Geriatric Oral Research Group (BENECOMO), Dutch Association for Gerodontology (NVGd), Bunnik, The Netherlands; Department of Oral Medicine, Academic Centre for Dentistry Amsterdam (ACTA), University of Amsterdam and Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
Int Dent J. 2022 Apr;72(2):186-193. doi: 10.1016/j.identj.2021.05.003. Epub 2021 Jul 6.
Some older people stop visiting the dentist when they get older. This study aims to identify the characteristics and oral health status of older people who do visit community dental practices.
In this exploratory cross-sectional study, the oral health of Dutch community-dwelling older people was assessed. A random sample of general dental practitioners and older people who visit the dental practice was drawn. The dentists were asked to prospectively select one older patient and describe this patient using a specially developed registration form; the patient was requested to complete a questionnaire. Data were described for 3 distinct groups of older people. Statistical measures for distribution and dispersion were used to describe the oral health of community-dwelling older patients in relation to the age.
A total of 373 (40.4%) dentist registration forms and 372 (40.3%) patient questionnaires were returned. Data were available for 364 (39.4%) dentist-patient couples. Amongst the patients, 52.8% were female and most had a high socioeconomic status. About 65.7% had one or more problems related to general health, and 75.2% used medication. Regarding the overall oral health status, the average number of teeth was 20, 3.5% were edentulous. Oral health problems were more common in the older patient group (aged 75+), in whom frailty was also most common.
Older people who visit community dental practices are still relatively healthy, non-frail, and highly educated. Even in this group, there is a turning point in both general and oral health from the age of 75.
一些老年人随着年龄的增长不再去看牙医。本研究旨在确定仍去社区牙科就诊的老年人的特征和口腔健康状况。
在这项探索性的横断面研究中，评估了荷兰社区居住的老年人的口腔健康状况。从普通牙科医生和去牙科就诊的老年人中抽取了一个随机样本。要求牙医前瞻性地选择一位老年患者，并使用专门开发的登记表描述该患者；患者被要求填写一份问卷。根据 3 组不同的老年人描述数据。使用分布和离散的统计度量来描述与年龄相关的社区居住老年患者的口腔健康状况。
共收回 373 份（40.4%）牙医登记表格和 372 份（40.3%）患者问卷。共有 364 对（39.4%）牙医-患者可供数据使用。在患者中，52.8%为女性，大多数社会经济地位较高。约 65.7%有一个或多个与一般健康有关的问题，75.2%使用药物。关于整体口腔健康状况，平均牙齿数为 20 颗，3.5%无牙。在年龄较大的患者组（75 岁以上）中，口腔健康问题更为常见，而且在此组中，虚弱也最为常见。
仍去社区牙科就诊的老年人仍然相对健康、非虚弱和受教育程度较高。即使在这个群体中，从 75 岁开始，他们的整体和口腔健康也会出现一个转折点。
