Assessment of oral health among a Lebanese urban geriatric population: a cross-sectional study -

Abstract

The sustained growth of elderly populations prompts increased attention to geriatric oral health.Assess oral health of elderly population, and the patterns and correlates of their dental health care seeking behavior.A sample of 352 adults aged 65 years and older was obtained from interviewing all available elderly people during visits to various social organizations and primary health-care centers within a radius of 25 km from Beirut (capital city of Lebanon). A structured dental examination was conducted to gather data on oral health (caries rate and missing and filled teeth [DMFT score], gingival health [plaque index], and dental functional unit [FU]). A face-to-face interview yielded additional oral health and treatment seeking behaviors and other correlates (e.g. smoking, dietary habits). Statistical methods included bivariate analyses exploring the oral health status by socio-demographics, oral hygiene practices and general health behaviors. Regression analysis was performed to predict oral care treatment seeking patterns.A high DMFT score (23.35±6.57) was observed, mostly contributed by the “Missing” component. Mean plaque and Root Caries indices were high (0.3 ±0.38) and mean FU was low (7.48±5.17). Less than a third of the elderly had sought dental care in the past year. Oral health was related to education, income, soda consumption and cigarette smoking (p-value0.05). Potential determinants of treatment-seeking included perception that oral health is as important-more important as general health, having medical insurance, reporting an income greater than minimum wages and wearing a complete denture.These data suggest that oral health represents a burden for the geriatric population that nevertheless perceives medical and dental care as a health continuum. Increased treatment seeking by the elderly would require interventions to communicate the importance of oral health, and increase access primarily by third party coverage.