Objective: The objective of this study is to describe the oral health status and the factors associated with oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL) in people aged 65 and older institutionalized in Barcelona in 2009. Study Design: Cross sectional study in 194 elderly. The dependent variable was poor OHRQoL, according to the Geriatric Oral Health Assessment Index (GOHAI). The independent variables were socio-demographic data, last dental visit, subjective and objective oral health status. Robust Poisson regression analysis was used to determine the factors associated with OHRQoL as well as the strengths of association (Prevalence Ratios with respective confidence intervals at 95%). Results: According to GOHAI, 94 women (68.1%) and 36 men (64.3%) had poor OHRQoL. The average DMFT index (number of decayed, missing and filled teeth) was 22.8, with mean 10.2 remaining teeth. According to the Community Periodontal Index only 1.9% were healthy. 33.8% of the sample (35.5% of women and 30.4% of men) presented edentulism, 54.2% needed upper dental prostheses (51.1% of women and 60.7% of men) and 64.7% needed lower ones (61.6% of women and 71.4% of men). Only 7.2% had visited a dentist in the past year (8.8% of women and 3.6% of men). After fitting several multivariate adjusted robust Poisson regression models, poor OHRQoL was found to be associated to self-reporting problems with teeth or gums, self-reporting poor opinion about teeth/gums/denture and also associated to functional edentulism, needing upper denture, but not to socio-demographic factors or time since last dental visit. Conclusions: The study population has poor objective oral health. A high percentage has poor OHRQoL associated to subjective and objective oral health conditions. Dental care is required and these services should be included in the Spanish National Health System. Key words:Oral health, homes for the aged, elderly, self-assessment, quality of life, geriatric oral health assessment index (GOHAI).

Objectives: To describe the frequency of brushing teeth and cleaning of dentures, performed by caregivers, for institutionalized elderly people. Methods: A cross-sectional study in a sample of 196 caregivers of 31 health centers in Barcelona. The dependent variables were frequency of dental brushing and frequency of cleaning of dentures of the elderly by caregivers. The independent variables were characteristics of caregivers and institutions. We performed bivariate and multivariate descriptive analyses. Robust Poisson regression models were fitted to determine factors associated with the dependent variables and to assess the strength of the association. Results: 83% of caregivers were women, 79% worked on more than one shift, 42% worked only out of necessity, 92% were trained to care for elderly persons, 67% were trained in oral hygiene care for the elderly, and 73% recognized the existence of institutional protocols on oral health among residents. The variables explaining the lower frequency of brushing teeth by caregivers for the elderly, adjusted for the workload, were: no training in the care of elderly persons (PRa 1.7 CI95%: 1.6-1.8), not fully agreeing with the importance of oral health care of the elderly (PRa 2.5 CI95%: 1.5-4.1) and not knowing of the existence of oral health protocols (PRa 1.8 CI95%: 1.2-2.6). The variables that explain the lower frequency of cleaning dentures, adjusted for the workload, were lack of training in elderly care (PRa 1.7 CI95%: 1.3-1.9) and not knowing of the existence of protocols (PRa 3.7 CI95%: 1.6-8.7). Conclusion: The majority of caregivers perform activities of oral health care for the elderly at least once per day. The frequency of this care depends mainly on whether caregivers are trained to perform these activities, the importance given to oral health, the workload of caregivers and the existence of institutional protocols on oral health of institutionalized elderly persons. Key words:Institutionalized elderly, caregivers, oral hygiene, long-term care, oral health.

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Spain is the second largest EU Member State with an area of 504,645 km(2) and is the fifth most populated one with a total of 46.5 million inhabitants. The number of dentists working in Spain has grown rapidly in the last 20 years. In December 2014, there were 33,346 practising dentists with a ratio of one dentist for every 1394 inhabitants. Oral health of children has improved; with a fall in the national mean DMFT index (decayed, missing and filled permanent teeth) among 12-year-olds, from 4.20 in 1984 to 1.12 in 2010. The percentage of the population that has visited a dentist within the last three months has risen from 13.5% (1987) to 16.9% (2011-2012). Forty-three percent of the Spanish population visited a dentist in the last year in 2009. The Spanish National Health System (SNS) provides comprehensive cover for general health, but very little oral healthcare for adults. Only emergency care and oral surgery (dental extractions) for adults are provided in publicly funded clinics. The vast majority of oral health care is provided in the private sector and over 90% of dental professionals work in the private sector. Nevertherless, children aged 7-15 years are covered (with some restrictions) by publicly funded oral healthcare with different care models, depending on the local health authority, and some of them are funded by a capitation system which was introduced 25 years ago.

Aim:The aim of this in vitro study was to investigate fluoride uptake in human enamel after use of o commercially available toothpastes containing different fluoride compounds, or combinations of fluoride actives formulated into a single product, as a means of determining the efficiency of each formula for delivering caries preventing fluoride to demineralized (caries active) enamel.Group 6: A placebo (formulated the same as the USP Reference Standard toothpaste with the exception that it contained < 1 ppm F). Cores 3 mm in diameter were removed from erupted human enamel specimens (extracted by local oral surgeons for orthodontic reasons) and stored in 1% Thymol solution prior to use. They were ground and polished to remove the natural fluoride rich enamel layer, then exposed to a demineralization solution, and assessed for surface microhardness to enable randomization for use in the study. Each group of five specimens underwent a daily pH cycling procedure that involved exposure to pooled human saliva (refreshed three times daily). The groups were then exposed to dentifrice slurries four times daily for one minute per exposure and to a demineralization solution for three hours. The cycling procedure was repeated for five days. Specimens were again analyzed for surface microhardness and fluoride uptake upon completion of five days of treatment. Abstract © Seer Publishing