Vandenbulcke Patricia Ann Ivonne, de Almeida Mello Johanna, Schoebrechts Emilie, De Lepeleire Jan, Declercq Anja, Declerck Dominique, Duyck Joke
Department of Oral Health Sciences, Population Studies in Oral Health, KU Leuven, Kapucijnenvoer 7, Box 7001, 3000, Leuven, Belgium.
LUCAS, Centre for Care Research, KU Leuven, Minderbroedersstraat 8, Box 5310, 3000, Leuven, Belgium.
Sci Rep. 2025 Feb 14;15(1):5463. doi: 10.1038/s41598-025-89910-4.
Oral health in care-dependent older adults is often compromised due to care dependency associated with deteriorating general health. This cross-sectional study assessed the oral health of 458 nursing home residents in Flanders, with a mean age of 82.7 years (70.3% female), using the optimised Oral Health Section of the interRAI Suite of Instruments and validated dental indices. Among residents with natural teeth (53.9%), poor oral hygiene (75.7%), poor tooth condition (56.6%), and poor gum condition (49.9%) were common. High dental plaque levels yielded a mean Oral Hygiene Index of 4.5, and 44.0% of participants had untreated caries with pulp involvement. A mean Modified Gingival Index of 1.8 indicated mild inflammation of the entire gingiva. Denture hygiene was inadequate in 68.5% of cases. Self-reported issues included dry mouth (32.8%) and chewing difficulties (23.4%). The higher correlation coefficients were observed between oral hygiene and gum condition (r = 0.324, p < 0.0001) and between chewing difficulty and pain (r = 0.247, p < 0.0001). Bivariate analyses showed cognitive and functional impairments were strongly linked to poor oral hygiene and gingival health. These findings highlighted the persistent need to improve oral health care in nursing home residents, particularly among those with cognitive decline or reduced self-care abilities.Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT06536322- Retrospectively registered July 23rd, 2024.
由于与整体健康状况恶化相关的护理依赖，依赖护理的老年人的口腔健康往往受到损害。这项横断面研究使用优化后的 interRAI 工具套件口腔健康部分和经过验证的牙科指数，评估了弗拉芒地区 458 名养老院居民的口腔健康状况，这些居民的平均年龄为 82.7 岁（女性占 70.3%）。在有天然牙的居民中（53.9%），口腔卫生差（75.7%）、牙齿状况差（56.6%）和牙龈状况差（49.9%）很常见。高牙菌斑水平导致口腔卫生指数平均为 4.5，44.0% 的参与者有未经治疗的累及牙髓的龋齿。改良牙龈指数平均为 1.8，表明整个牙龈有轻度炎症。68.5% 的病例义齿卫生不足。自我报告的问题包括口干（32.8%）和咀嚼困难（23.4%）。在口腔卫生与牙龈状况之间（r = 0.324，p < 0.0001）以及咀嚼困难与疼痛之间（r = 0.247，p < 0.0001）观察到较高的相关系数。双变量分析表明，认知和功能障碍与口腔卫生差和牙龈健康密切相关。这些发现凸显了持续改善养老院居民口腔保健的必要性，特别是在认知能力下降或自我护理能力降低的人群中。试验注册：ClinicalTrials.gov NCT06536322 - 2024 年 7 月 23 日追溯注册。
